That Time the MLS Season Was Fast Approaching

Welcome back! This week, David, Devang and Sean get back into the swing of things, and look forward to the MLS season that's just over a month away. They get into the league, the players, the new TV deals and even the new social media landscape. Finally, as we do every week on the show, we close it off with #AskAFP where we discuss the potential for another huge star moving to the MLS.

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Episode Transcript

(00:22):
Hello, and welcome to AFP.My name is to Vegasi and I'm joined
by the usual suspects, David Gossand Sean Ka. On our triumphant return.
We talk about the upcoming MLS season, previewing each Canadian team, seeing
what they've done, what they haven'tdone in some cases, Plus new MLSTV

(00:44):
deals come into shape. We've gotto look at how that's going to look
for this season. Some news inthe wider soccer internet world, especially North
America based sp nation making some cuts, and we get to the future of
Canadian soccer with a bunch of highprofile transfers, plus some some key dates
end in your future, gentlemen,it's been a long time. I'm not

(01:07):
gonna say it, but I reallywant to. It's January. It's like
the last week of January. ButI you know what I'm gonna do it.
Happy New Year, guys, HappyNew Year? Are you not a
Larry David fan? Hi? Everyonesends the gift and they're like, ha
ha, Who's who does that?So late? But now I think it's
the counterculture, so I meant itand I haven't. I haven't really spoken
to you, either of you togetherin a long time, so I think

(01:30):
it's still warranted. How's it goinga long time? No talk? Yeah,
you know, I'm just still packingon the winter pounds to get me
through the wind, you know,get me through the cold. So I'm
just working on that hibernation, youknow, Devian and you know, staying
up late nights to watch the futureof tennis, which is obviously American.

(01:51):
Just rise to the occasion the Menissance. Oh my god. I like how
each one of those American phenoms haslike several Donald Trump posts on Instagram.
So it's just it warms my heartthat this. They're also all children of
tennis players. It's like, ohwow, this is really how you make
it. I know, I know. It's Neppo babies everywhere. You were

(02:14):
also in Italy, though you wereyou were somewhere nice from Missipia. I
went to Italy for my week offin between the World Cup and coming back
and getting ready for the rest ofthe world. So it was very nice.
I ate a lot of food,I drank a lot of wine.
I drank a lot of spritzes becauseI'm basic that way, and I could
live in Italy like I could dothat. I think that's one of those

(02:36):
places I could handle it. Doyou think you need to speak Italian?
Like, there's some places where youcould live and it would take you a
while to adapt to the language andit's okay. But is Italy a place
where you feel like you need toknow Italian at some level? I think
I think you should, but Ido think just the natural movement of hands

(02:57):
and gestures getting your point across,I'm probably fluent enough to get around without
ever studying a second of Italian.Oh, Laura, where where in Italy
were you? David did? Wedid a little over a week split between
Florence, Venice, and Rome,so the basic cliche route. I had

(03:17):
gone to Italy a few years backand I did Rome, Milan, Turin
and Genoa. So I figured ifI did this, I'd be done with
the north and then if I evergo back, I'll go to the south.
But we kind of crossed off allthe other ones. I had a
great time in Venice, but youknow, it's winter, so it's like
not the time to go. Soit was awesome, but I can imagine

(03:38):
it being a bit overwhelming when fullof people. But I had a great
time and I would tell anyone elseto go and I love Rome, So
I would live in Rome probably andlike probably watch Gladiator once a week just
to get myself juice uff because thatis such a good movie and now I
have to watch it again since I'vebeen back. When I on my honeymoon,

(03:58):
I went to Rome as well asum, I'm gonna butcher this and
the apologies the Italians, Chinka,Tera, and so it's just like five
towns alongside the coast. It's absolutelybeautiful. You have to take like a
train into the mountains and you canonly get there through this one way.
But in Rome, our airbnb hadone movie on DVD that you could watch,

(04:20):
and it was a Gladiator, andso I to put myself up before
going to the coliseum. I'm like, I'm doing this. I am I'm
doing this, and so yeah,I enjoyed it, but it was We
were there in April and it was, oh, like, once again I'm
a tourist, but it was sotouristy, like every spot you went to

(04:40):
there was like thousands of people tryingto get that picture and it just felt
a little overwhelming. But there aresome really really cool spots in Rome.
I loved it. It was itwas really really nice. I was gonna
try and help on the I thinkit's pronounced chinqua tera, but they realized
then now we'll just have two peoplesaying it wrong, which I don't think
it better for the show it is. I mean, you guys live in

(05:03):
a major city as well, wherelike tourists annoy you, right, so
then when you go somewhere it's likekind of tough to try and avoid being
that person. And then sometimes Ithink I overthink about it, where it's
like just leave it alone. Yeah, just be normal whatever that is for
you, be normal and get outof my way. Get out of my
way, or I'll chef you outof my way, Like well, yeah,

(05:24):
that's all. I think. Thething with Rome though, and the
same with New York, is thatthere's so much history and so many landmarks
and so many people that travel inthere, Whereas I will say, and
maybe it's just because of where Ilive in Toronto and where I frequent,
I very rarely run into tourists ofa large amount, Like I'm talking thousands

(05:47):
of people like sitting in front ofthe Trevy Fountain and you're just like,
oh god, easy. But Iget if I was to walk by the
sea in tower. I'm sure I'ddo the same thing, So give and
take. I think you're John andI live closer to the episode of quote
unquote of the city, and it'snever that bad. Like some people are
stumbling around Tiff trying to watch amovie. It's like, well, there's

(06:11):
a montana Is down the street,there's a Kelsey's as well, see what
the best Toronto has to offer.And that's all. Um. That sounds
great, David, congrats as well. Belated congrats to you on the personal
great news. Sean, You're well, yeah, yeah, things are good.
Well. Was was in Pei fora few few weeks to celebrate the

(06:35):
holidays and came back and just justbeen living in the gray world that we
live in. No sun, nosnow, just gray. Three weeks of
straight gray, so I can beas happy as I could be because there's
no sun in this world. Butaside from that great the saddest thing when

(06:56):
the sun came out today, itwas like a multiple people are are messaging
me. I'm seeing online boards lightup, people like did you see the
sun is out? The sun isout? That's how bad January has been.
It's been terrible. I cannot waittill January is over. But overall,
I'm all as well, and alot has happened obviously since we've spoken

(07:16):
to you last, which doesn't feelthat long ago thinking about it now,
as we sit down to record thisshow, it's like, yeah, it's
back, and the World Cup isin the rearview mirror, and we have
mlstems playing friendlies behind closed doors,behind closed closed doors where they tell you
what's happening, but then they alsotell you they're not going to tell you

(07:36):
what happened, which at that pointjust don't even tell me it's happening,
right, Ignorance is bliss. Idon't know where you guys fall on the
friendlies that aren't friendlies that are beingplayed but aren't played, but they have
to tell We've been on that side, Sean, We've been on that side.
We've done it. Yeah. Iwas gonna say, you guys worked
for a club, what is thewhat's the vibe for other people around when

(08:00):
you're actually around it? Like doyou then tell people like, hey,
is that this game the other daythat you don't know about? Like it
was so cool? It was?It is one of the most annoying things
as both sides. As somebody whowould manage or manage a team in social
media, like being frontward facing andtelling like and why are we telling these

(08:24):
people? It's like, well,we've got to be out in front of
it in case they hear about it, but then we're gonna be secretive about
it. And then you're like,well, so, so, no matter
what, my job is going tobe extremely tough for the next forty eight
hours for no reason other than wecould have just not told it. Yeah,
And then from a fan point ofview, it's like, why why

(08:46):
are we not knowing about these games? Is there really like this super secret
player that's trying out for the team. Is the tactics really that different?
The secret see around MLS preseason acrossthe board is wild compared hilarious. I
would say any other North American leaguedo you guys think that as well?

(09:11):
I think it's taken too seriously.Yeah, I mean, like I understand
the preparation aspect, but I doI recall I think we the tfcu's playing
the Galaxy and this was highly anticipatedfriendly. I think the Galaxy has a
new editions as well, and theydidn't want they just didn't want to publicize
that much, and yet we sawthem post that the game was happening,

(09:33):
so we're like, we'll do thesame thing. But at that point,
you've opened a can of worms becausewe were following them. Because if they're
saying we're playing TFC and we don'tsay anything, it'll look weird, wouldn't
it. So I feel like,A, you're put in that position,
and then B you're also told youcan't say anything about said game. So
it just puts you in the firingline of some irate fans. But I

(09:56):
think it's taken a little too seriously. I understand plotting for the season,
but come on, guys, it'sjust I guess what's hard about preseason for
me? And to be clear onlyfrom the outside ever, like I don't
work, I've never worked for aclub. Is I guess like friendlies are
so common in soccer that it's likeit's more natural for them to be more

(10:22):
useless, if that makes sense.Like the NBA preseason game, it can't
like there you only have like sixteendudes on their roster, right, Like
the guys are gonna play a littlebit and there's only so many things you
can do, where like in soccer, it's like you could roll out nine
Academy kids a trial list and likeone starter, and so it's like really
hard for me to like figure outif any of it matters, and I

(10:46):
kind of just it's a point ofguilt for me that every year I'm like,
I'm gonna watch preseason. This year, I'm gonna follow preseason. I
care and I don't care. Andthen you add in having other competitions,
so it's like, oh, well, it would be an opportunity to see
these players, except they'll play anOpen Cup or they're playing the Canadian Championship
or League's Cup or see it likethere's like ninety every team's gonna like fifty

(11:09):
five games this year. I don'tneed three extra to see like a bunch
of random people whole I'll never seeagain. So I struggle with preseason,
and then that's hard where it's like, okay, TFC plays Vancouver. Let's
say in a preseason game, Vancouverwins three zero. They look good,
Well, did TFC play nine Accademyyou know what I mean? Like it
makes it hard on bulleth sides aswell. It's a good point, very

(11:31):
good point, and we're gonna talka lot about preseason and makes some sweeping
judgments based on it in a fewseconds. So take that and you've seen
their preseason. You see that,Yeah, although I will say NYCFC look
like a trainer. On that note, we'll take a break. When we

(11:52):
come back on the other side,we'll take a look at the Canadian teams,
what they've done, what they haveto do. As you get close
to season kickoff, Welcome back toAFP. The MLS season is just over

(12:15):
a month away, lots of timefor roster masch nations and hand ringing and
posting regarding who is in who isout. We'll go through the Canadian teams
and see where they stand and beginclose to home. Toronto FC. It
worked. Bringing people to professional sportingevents in Toronto is the telltale sign that

(12:37):
they're going to sign with the club. Matt Hedges he signed the deal.
It sounds like based on the latestnews including Matt Freese moving to NYCFC,
Andre Blake's understudy at Philadelphia, highlytouted, finally getting his shot. That
makes it seem pretty clear that SeanJohnson will sign at TFC eventually, at

(12:58):
some point, at some point soon, hopefully hopefully, I think so.
That's potentially on the way. Theyadded Deobandi a bit of a surprise,
I think to some, but he'ssomeone who has performed in this league at
times. Victor Vasquez familiar face.Of course, he's back Thomas or Merrow,
the other goalkeeper that they brought in, and probably the backup. A

(13:18):
lot to do though, left back, second, center back, midfield depth
frankly not enough incoming at this point, but obviously they still have time.
David, where do you sit withwhere TFC is at? I guess do
you think they are? Is theirtimeline accurate here? Like? Have they

(13:39):
left too much to do? BecauseI think there is some nervousness around the
fact that it doesn't seem like thisteam is as composed as it should be
at this point in the off season. This doesn't look like a roster to
me, and I might be loston some things or undervaluing some people.
And I went through it. Thereis I guess nine or some of the

(14:01):
starters are there. It's just I'mnot sure. Yeah, this is not
one of those teams that I feelis complete right now going into the season,
or I would feel comfortable making acall about where they'll finish, and
like, I just went through allmy rosters to reseat and and catch up
because I took some time off andsort of disappeared. And there were some

(14:22):
teams that I went through, theRed Bulls or one that stood out to
me Phillies obviously, you know anobvious one. FC Cincinnati's up there where
you're like, yep, this isthe same team. Like they don't have
a ton of work to do becausethey didn't lose a ton of pieces.
TFC was didn't lose a ton ofpieces. They just didn't exist last year.
So I'm pretty I'm still pretty faraway. Like I would argue they're

(14:45):
still missing a starting center back,at least one left back. Obviously you're
still missing. And then I guessDiamandi's the final piece in the attack,
and so then the other six orso pieces are filled in. Richie will
be gone as of now in thesummer, so it's not one hundred percent
signing and then goalkeeper, like threeto four starters a lot to be at

(15:07):
on January twenty fifth, I thinkthat's very sean. It sounds like Bob
Bradley is quite comfortable, and Iknow there's there's posturing and presenting yourself to
the media, and that's one thing, and then what's really going on is
another thing. But that being said, I feel like Bob is pretty straightforward
most of the time, and he'llhe'll tell you like it is, and
it seems like he's pretty comfortable atthis point with where they're at. But

(15:28):
there's a lot left to do andI'm taking a look at the roster myself,
and I think there's some hope thatthere is a bounce back from certain
players who are coming back, LikeI think you can You're hoping you can
expect or significant impact from margainthon thek of the season, right, Like
that's something you're you're sort of bankingon at this point. Yeah, And

(15:50):
I think I think the other thingthat hasn't been said yet that is sort
of really ominous around Toronto FC islike there's been so many questions around Jaden
Nelson, Iowac and Ola Jequiale Marshallready on what their status is, what
their involvement with the squad is,Are they gone, are they like if
they are still with the team.There is some depth to the midfield,

(16:14):
there's some depth to the attack.You still will need to lean on Jonathan
Osio, Mark Anthony k and MichaelBradley to play twenty five to thirty games
apiece at a high level, whichwhich is I think asking a lot.
When Michael is coming on to hiswhatever season at max minutes. Jonathan Saurio,

(16:38):
who hasn't like credit to him likelast year was I would call it
a bit of a one off inregards to a weird injury. But Jonathan
Osorio hasn't played more than like twentyfive games for the last three or four
seasons, so to expect him tobe in the lineup day and day it
is going to be tough. Soyou really need that depth to step in

(16:59):
there. It's there's there's just somany questions with this roster. Where does
Victor Vasquez sit into this role likein a midfield three, He doesn't really
fit into it. And then hedoesn't really sit into the into that number
nine spot that like Diamande has sortof stepped into. Io's there, Jimenez
is there. I'm concerned And asmuch as Bob is saying this is the

(17:26):
squad he wants, I think thatthe next seven days will be really telling.
I think we need to see theend of the transfer window in Europe
to see where some of these guyscould get sold to and then as well
as who maybe coming in. Thereis talk of a second center back coming
in. But but once again,I'm I'm concerned right now with a month

(17:51):
to go. No, I completelyagree with you. And one of the
things you mentioned some of the homegrowns, but it's like, you know,
Petrosso's traded away, Shaffelberg's traded away. DeAndre Kurr and Kosey Thompson got some
minutes last year. Jaden Nelson obviouslygot minutes because he's like a high level
prospect. My point is, thisisn't a club and a roster where I

(18:18):
look at it and say, ohthere's holes. That's fine. They have
guys like I don't know them fromthe outside, but they have them.
Right. That's sort of the casethat we've seen in the past with Philly
or FC Dallas or at the RedBulls, where it's like they've got academy
depth, they've got pieces that becausewhen you talk about the academy in North
America as well, a lot oftimes guys go to college so then they

(18:40):
come in guys play somewhat with theacademy or play with your U twenty three's,
so you don't have homegrown rights tothem, but they are training with
you in the preseason. They couldbe a party for your roster. There
are clubs that use those aspects alot. TFC is not one of them.
So it's hard from the outside becausethe games we know are the names

(19:00):
that play, and there is nota lot of oh, this was unknown
to us. RSL's one of thoseclubs. RSL is one of those clubs
that you come into a season andThey'll be two or three guys that I've
never even heard of on the rosterand they'll play legitimate minutes for them and
they'll be fine. TFC is notone of those, And so yeah,
Ksey Thompson Kerr, I think they'llbe factors this year in terms of depth.

(19:22):
You know, Kayden Chung, Jekill, Marshall, Ruddy, those guys
will be a factor in terms ofdepth. But it's not like they're going
to bring other academy kids into thisfirst team and play them legitimately, So
you need all first team players thatdon't exist on the roster right now.
It reminds me I think LAFC ismaybe a bad example, and they just

(19:42):
won, so maybe blocked them outof this. But I feel like they're
still trying to win the way youwere supposed to win in twenty seventeen or
twenty sixteen, where you could getby if your first eleven was just simply
good enough and it could be filledwith high priced players but also solid veterans
who have plenty of I'm less experience. I think what you see currently is

(20:03):
still that need for high caliber talent, but the installation has to be produced
by your club. Like the mostsuccessful teams are the most of the teams
that show that consistency and the abilityto respond again and again and be in
the conversation, have insulated their startingelevens with players from their own academy playing
important roles, not maybe the biggestroles all the time, but very important

(20:26):
roles. And for wire, TFCstarted last year, so you're kind of
saying this is the youth movement,this is what we're going to do to
kind of just say, yeah,we're done at this point. That's where
I feel a bit less optimistic thanI feel I should have been with some
of the people they did bring backinto in terms of like the big guys,

(20:47):
the big dps. So the planis not certain for me. Yeah,
I think the twenty seventeen compa isinteresting or just that era of MLS,
because that was sort of a shiftfrom you have your big dp's carry
you too, winning right to mainlya like Galaxy and teams like that too,

(21:07):
the like well Seattle actually builds alegitimate roster top to bottom. There
are not a lot of holes ontheir team. I think TFC built that
right with Beta Shore and guys likethat. This team is our six best
players are better than your six bestplayers, and that can be enough.
And I don't want to take awayfrom all this that I think I've said

(21:32):
this before. I think Bob Bradleyis the best American coach right now in
the world. I think he getsmore out of players than other people.
Right The Revs just gave up fourhundred thousand allocation and TAM and a TAM
contract to la Thief Blessing, whowas, you know, a backup winger
in MLS as a young kid whenhe got to Bob Bradley. Mark Anthony
Kay was a USL winger when hegot to Bob Bradley system. Now you

(21:56):
know he's a national team player,so that is also something you need to
include. And this roster might begood enough for him to now be able
to work those pieces because they're onlyplaying off the stars. Obviously last year
was too big a step. Hecould not get all of these underrated pieces
to be a playoff team on theirown. And then you add the changes,

(22:17):
and so I don't want us todiscount that completely because he is that
good and if Osok and Bradley arehealthy, like they could be that good,
right, Like you could then lookat the team and say, okay,
not a ton of depth, butlike their front three are better than
everyone in MLS because of the twoItalians, and their midfield three could be
better than everyone in MLS as well. And that's a pretty strong place to

(22:38):
go from, especially if you addSean John to this whole situation. But
you don't see a ton of MLSteams win by saying they don't have two
of the three better best center backsin each matchup as they go through the
season. Yeah, and I don'twant to discredit Matt Hedges in this as
well. Once again, has hebeen on a bit of a downturn the

(23:00):
last eighteen months. Yes, Butin a new system, in a new
situation, could he still be anMLS All Star ish caliber player. I
think so, um, but heneeds to be insulated with another CB that
can play alongside him. But onceagain, if you have Sean Johnson,

(23:21):
Matt Hedges at like Michael Bradley MarkAnthony kay As the sort of spine of
your back line, you should bein most games. So yes, do
I think that there's some huge holesin this roster and in the way that
it's being made. Yes, ButI think you're right though, in the
sense that, like you've brought intwo very high profile MLS envy free agents,

(23:45):
and on top of that, youhave maybe the two best players in
major or the most skilled players inMajor League Soccer upfront. So sure you're
no, I'm Bernardesci and but whoare the two MLS veterans. Oh yeah,
Sean Johnson, Sean Johnson and MattHedges Okay, I didn't know if

(24:08):
you were on board with devang,which was if you go to a Canadian
sporting event, you're automatically a TFCplayer. I didn't know if you were
subscribing. I am subscribing to it. However, if Saturday a week from
now rolls around and he's not holdinga TFC Jersey, I will unsubscribe to

(24:30):
the dint. Didn't Fonzie go toan Edmonton Oilers game? Does that make
him a TFC player? Wow,you're the one who said Bob Brawdley is
him. So you're on the record. Yeah, basically I am. I'm
happy to be on record. Thatso good good? Oh I hope so,
David, because that will mean TFCwill do well and it'll all work.

(24:52):
Yet I don't know. I'm hearingthose names Shan listen out, and
I'm feeling okay, this could befun. But what could not be fun
is if they have to play inthese new kids dog joking, but the
new TFC kits are making the roundsand a lot of people are not pleased.
Um Sehn is a Jersey connoisseur andalso someone who I know loves the

(25:14):
TFC grays they had back in theday. How do you feel about this
leaked kit that seems real? I'malways sure it's real. What's what's your
take on this? I do notlike it one bit. No one does,
sadly, no one does. Yeah, I think number one. When
I first saw it, I waslike, and David. On the way

(25:37):
to bemo Field, there is thetrain station, and outside the train station
is a couple of guys in avan selling like busted TFC T shirts and
jerseys and all this stuff. Andthat's what I thought when I first saw
this, is that there's a coupleof guys just tossing this out of their
back that they made. That's likeit looked you talking about the train station,

(25:57):
you're saying the one where you gounder the bridge on the tunnel.
Yeah, yeah, I don't know. I don't think I didn't walk from
to multiple games. Well I wasgonna say I know, I was gonna
say it. I was gonna namethe street, but then I was like,
I don't think you'll remember that.So anyway, long story short,
there there's a couple vans that sitout there and make them a quick buck,

(26:22):
and good on them for doing it. But but it doesn't look good.
I don't think it looks sharp.Once again, I I always will
leave and wait for it to beon a player because seeing it on a
hanger, it just doesn't look right. But a player, it might it
might look good, so I'm I'mgonna say wait, wait till we see

(26:44):
it in action. But it doesn'tlook good right now. It's an understatement,
and I think the TFC fans Ipulled a not a fan, but
I've seen multiple versions and I'm notlike. I think Sean is right in
the sense that we should probably waitto see the full four, the final,
as they say, let's see howthis pokemon evolves and track it from
there. From that hand fisted reference, we move on to another club in

(27:10):
turmoil. Maybe not turmoil, butthere's some stuff happening with CF Montreal.
Hernan Lisada, his first training campin charge, Kai Kamara Wantaway does not
want to be there after the club'shandling of the wealth Nazi situation. He
did return to training, but thenhe got held up. It's a bad
weather and miss training to start theweek, which has put him back in

(27:33):
the bad books, but he stillwants to leave. I was reading today
that Joaqui Torres could be on hisway out, with the Philadelphia Union reportedly
interested in him. SIFF Montreal,seeing so many players leave, I think
this team will be fascinating to observefrom now through the end of the season
to see how they can deal withthis, because they do have some people

(27:53):
coming back, and they've got somegood news in that regard regarding victory one
Yama. But where is this teamat, Like do you do you read
into the fact that Kai Kamar isstill there and causing a problem by being
there or is he being the proand just trying to wait it out till
he gets a deal to go somewhereelse Like that seems like not the worst

(28:15):
thing in the world, But whenyou have a new management and someone who
is clearly pissed off by how theytreated the old management, the old coaching
staff, it makes for a reallyawkward situation. I think this is like
I think the Kai stuff in theend of the season, we won't notice
anymore, Like whatever happens will happen, right, Unfortunately Kai gets traded every

(28:36):
other year. I think there's likea bit of knock on of saying people
are upset about non Say, butlike Kai was there for nine months.
Like if Sam Piet can show up, right, who's known non Say for
eight years and has seen him risethrough and other guys are going to come
who played at youth levels under nonSay, like I think that the rest

(29:00):
of the club is doing okay,and I would argue from a player point
of view, they've actually done reallywell. I really like this roster,
Like I don't think it's taken asbig a step as I thought it would.
It all hinges though on Well,I guess here's two things. I
think we now have to start havinga conversation around Montreal where we're talking about

(29:21):
two separate things. We are talkingabout their ability to win on the weekend
and rise in the ranking and risingthe standings, and their club. I
think the club has bigger issues thanthe first team does, and I don't
there's no way to fix that stuffwithout changing who runs the whole thing and
the ownership. So I think wekind of have to express that because for

(29:42):
you to have a guy move toyour city, become a local, come
up through your youth ranks, comeup as an assistant, be a first
team coach, and after a yearand a half say this guy so f
and crazy, I can't be hereanymore. There's no chance for long term
success after this in my mind,right, Like, if Hernan Losada does

(30:06):
well, you really think he's gonnastay. Why would Hernan Losada be more
committed to this project than Wilfred Nansay. And if Joey Sepputo couldn't keep
himself under control for the last twoyears, why you think he's going to
start over the next two years.So I think that's one issue. On
the other side, I do thinkfirst team success hinges on Losada, And
I can't tell you if he's agood manager yet because after whatever we saw

(30:30):
in DC, like there was nothere's no definitive answer in any direction.
I think that's why they're so interestingbecause I, like you mentioned, on
the club side, some unforced errorscontinue to be made. They hired a
youth team coach who advocated for theassassination of a political or a politician after
an election, and there was thiswhole big deal and basically they had to

(30:52):
sack the person days after hiring them. But the team itself, as much
as they have lost with Georgie andAlistair and ishmal kone and will not say,
the team itself that they returned isquite forwardable, David, like you
mentioned, and can they win inspite of the dysfunction is something out of

(31:14):
Major League and out of the movies. But with a coach with a coach
who wasn't run out of his lastjob, but basically was for being a
tyrant? Does that too much tosay, David? With someone who had
pretty militant fitness concerns, Like someonetexted me and they were like, is
he legally allowed to be a coachin MLS because there was standing complaints from

(31:37):
the players union that were bordering onlong trading standards. Yeah, which I
don't believe any of them were actuallycarried out or carried through, so I
don't think there is any actual legalissues. But yeah, that's how bad
that club disliked Hernan Losada and Losadahad a year plus so it wasn't like

(32:00):
two months. You know what wesaw with Paulo Nagamora, which was like
took over a crap team two monthsin their crap everyone doesn't like it.
Okay, let's get this guy out. Like he had a little bit of
time, and it was after thetime when everyone decided they didn't like being
around him and could no longer playfor him. But I would say,
once again, you'd hope, ifone, you'd hope he'd learn lessons from

(32:21):
his past situation and his best job. I don't know her Non Losada well
enough to say if that's true,but you'd also hope that this is a
different role, like he's taking overa built team, and so rather than
maybe trying to reformat into his idealsystem which requires this physicality and fitness at
an insane unhuman level, maybe hecan take a lot of what Non say

(32:44):
already did and start to tweak it, and then maybe it won't require him
to do the things he did withDC. He's a good quote too,
which makes this even more fascinating greetingsome of his media He's done so far,
it's good to be wild and thetea itself has been quite good,
and I'm really excited to see whatthey can do this season and see the

(33:05):
drama unfull. The team that probablyhas the least amount of drama surrounding them
in a Canadian sense, and thatis for the best, is the Vancouver
white Caps. They have made somemoves, but I think stability returning this
year, or not having to makethat many moves could be viewed as a
positive. They brought in actually nowdefender Matthias Laborida to shure up the back

(33:27):
line, Blackman Vasselinovic and Yao probablyformed that nucleus, which is pretty strunk.
I look at this team and Isee Ryan gald future Canadian international.
Ryan Gald back again and I'm joking, but also maybe and Brian White and
Jahome and Kubas and Shop a fullyear of him, Julian Gressel a full

(33:51):
year of him? Am I wrongto feel like there's a possibility for the
white Caps to be one of thequote unquote surprise teams of the season.
So I gotta tell you. Ihad a chance to sit down with Ryan
Gold during the media marketing tour andI brought up the Canadian stuff. I
don't know if I did it onair, and when it happened, I

(34:14):
was like, you know, athleteslive different lives, but I'm pretty sure
it's going to take him like sixyears to get any form of citizenship to
be eligible. But everyone was pumpedabout it, and I asked him about
it and he's like, I don'tknow, man, it takes a really
long time to get citizenship. AndI was like, that's what I don't
understand. Why everyone all of asudden was like, Oh, he wants
to pay for Canada. This guy'sgonna be Canadian now we do this with

(34:37):
the US sometimes too. It's likemaybe if the sports were bigger, that
happens. I don't know if hockeywould do that, be able to do
that in Canada. We don't reallyhave a sport in the US where politicians
are going to like fast track citizenshipfor that person, because we win most
things and the ones we don't wedon't like. So there's not like a
person who's going to get us overthe line that anyone cares about. But

(34:59):
I thought that was really funny withRyan Gold. But with Vancouver, yeah,
listen, I will say I didall of this last year, so
I don't want to be too farin yeah where I'm like, oh,
the rosters set, they're ready togo, because I did a lot of
that last year and they burned mepretty damn hard, especially right out of
the gates. But I will againsay, outside of two maybe three spots,

(35:22):
this was a pretty settled team.They've already filled one of them with
Laborda. So now you're looking atgoalkeeper if you don't trust a Solim,
potentially center forward if you don't trustBrian White, and the other options you
have full time, which it soundslike those are both spots that they were
looking at based off the rumors we'rehearing currently. But the way the team
plays, the pieces that are influentialto how the team plays are all in

(35:45):
place, and they've all played togetheralready, and they should all be settled,
and if they can fix how tostart seasons properly, this should easily
be a playoff team in the WesternConference. I like the team a lot,
and looking at a potential starting eleventhat looks like you can win some
games, it kind of reminds youof once youre all a bit last year,

(36:07):
to be frank, in terms ofthe mix of international talent MLS talent,
not as many Canadians as you wouldhope. But also maybe it's a
good thing Lucas Cavalini is not returning. Most likely. Do we know where
Lucas Cavalini he's going to play thisseason? Is he staying in MLS?
No, it sounds like he's goingto be in Mexico or or back in

(36:30):
Uruguay or Argentina. I think it'stoo bad. I think like he could
have as a non DP on agood roster. I think he could have
scored some goals and maybe I thinkHe's fine, right, He's happy with
his life, but it could haveshifted the perception of him a bit,
which I think would have been nice. Agreed. I mean, I'm not
sure how many people have said Vancouverwill remember the head stomp that effectively ended

(36:53):
his career there, but I will, and that sucks, like that's not
a great way to end your clubcareer or whatever I feel like. Right
before World Cup as well, thoseare the Canadian teams. Plenty more additions
to be made in some cases,but the friendlies are happening. I saw
Vancouver was playing Hamburg Bee they lostto them in TFC's training in California as

(37:16):
well. More on that as weget further in the show. We'll just
do an MLS round up, David. You mentioned NYCFC a big departure for
them, Alex Kayans Collins leaving,Sean Johnson's gonna leave. That's a pretty
big unheavil at the back end fora team that's that's kind of been built
on their slowly toy at the back. It's gonna be the first new NYCFC

(37:39):
squad in like five years. They'vebeen the most consistent team in MLS on
points year to year o pretty muchsince Via retired or right maybe the last
his last year as well. Andyeah, you you mentioned Sean John Collins
Anton Tennor Home who went health He'sbeen the best right back in MLS.
He's already left, Maxi Morales gone, Tatia obviously has already left. He's

(38:00):
gone. Nicholas Asvedo, who playedcenter made for them gone, and Santi
Rodriguez who basically won MLS or onetwo playoff games for them to win MLS
Cup two years ago. He's alsogone. So it's massive overhaul for NYCFC.
It is this is one of theweirder things, Like Alex Collins is

(38:21):
getting paid by CFG to not playfor NYCFC. They could just give him
a DP and pay him the exactsame contract they're paying him to play for
Girona. It's just I can't imaginebeing a fan of the team because I
just think it's one of the weirderones to try and figure out and like
mentally deal with. But at thesame time, they know probably drop ten

(38:42):
South American twenty year olds on theroster, you know, a day or
two before the season starts and bereally good, and we don't know that
Sean John's gone as well, sowe should be clear about that because they
can give him the most money,like you can resign someone bird rights,
then more than other people can offer. So I don't really understand why he

(39:05):
would leave, like you're gonna getpaid to live in New York. It
just it doesn't seem like an obviousmove. But he's been really quiet and
he has gone out, and youknow, if he wanted to be an
NY in New York, one hundredpercent, he'd be in preseason or you
know, he'd be signed. Soclearly there's a sticking point for him.
The elephant in the room is thatthe Raptors are terrible, and he might

(39:27):
have watched the terrible game and beenlike, you know what, I'm out
of here. I don't want towatch this. Well, they beat the
Knicks twice in the last week,so I don't think that's an advantage.
This city hasn't the only team wecould beat. How does that feel?
By the way, we're literally theonly team the Raptors can beat in New
York. Knicks feel so bad,dude. I looked at the schedule.
We were like three games out offourth on like a five of the six

(39:49):
winning streak. We had Toronto,Washington, Detroit that was in the Hawks
in the next five games, andI was like, we could make a
run, and then we lost threestraight god damn games. So yeah,
it sucks. Incredible, incredible stuff. Quickly, John Duran to Aston Villa
for a huge fee. Ye jetsthe under twenty two DP initiative for facilitating

(40:14):
this news. Sean, do wehave some trivia? We do so,
I just going through I was justdoing a bit of research and noticed that
Joseph Martinez and Jesse's artist both startthe season with one hundred and three goals.
First off, I want to knowwhich one do you think ends off
the season with more goals? JosephMartinez. I think the inter Miami move

(40:37):
is going to be a goalben answerfor him not to say that Atlanta was
wrong and moving on when they did, but he's gonna have every birth there.
Based on that video of the Academykids welcoming him and the way it
pulled up my heart strings, Ifeel like a twenty goal season is incoming.
I'll take Joss that club, thatclub concuer in Well, it's a

(41:00):
team that generates chances he's playing fora coach who was the assistant when he
had his best ever seasons in Columbusunder Barra Altair. Historically, he's been
fairly healthy as well, and like, I don't think the pressure is totally
on him. So I'll pick Josseon that one. And then to follow
up, We've talked about Josse,Joseph, and Kai Kamar already. Who

(41:23):
are the three top um current activeplayers in scoring Kai with one forty four,
Joseph with one oh three, andJosse with one oh three UM,
But I wanted to know if youguys could name the other seven in the
top ten current active players. Youknow I'm gonna start yelling Will at So
here's this is where I want no, no, I want to asterix that

(41:47):
at this current time, Will Bruinis not an active MLS player. Oh
that's he is out of contract andwe don't know if he's going to continue
to play in Major League Soccer.That's not fair because he's like in the
free agent pool. He is inthe free agent pool, but he also
scored two goals in the last seasonin playing, Like I just don't he

(42:10):
could be playing. He's not onthe list, he's not considered according to
Transfer Market dot US, he isnot considered an active player. Oh so
now we're listening to the Germans aboutthis. Is that? Actually me and
Jurgen Klinsmann came up with this list, and so let's go with number number

(42:32):
four through through ten. Who dowe got here? Active player is Carlos
Vela, Josie Carlos Vellett. SoCarlos Vella eight. Josie is five?
Nice, good job devang Um CarlosVellet active in MLS. Yeah, is

(42:52):
a rudy. He is that one. I couldn't believe he's ninth on that
list because he's just been in theleague for a thousand years. Is Chicha
Rizo? He is not Ruy Diaz. Ruy Diez is tenth. He has
sixty eight yep. So number four, number six and number seven. Uh

(43:16):
Fagundes, No, no, Fagundesis not in there. He's eleventh.
I'm trying to think of like who'sbeen around, Um, what about Sebastian
Blanco. No, no, we'regetting in. So there's one guy who
who filled the net in his earlydays, early MLS style, then went

(43:37):
away for a few years and thencame back. It's called four or five
years ago and is on the list. He's only no, well, Josie
was fifth, but not Josie notkidding. American Freddie Freddie, Freddie Montera.

(43:59):
There we go, and then there'stwo others, um and I believe
they played together in their the beginningof their career. They were both young
strikers. So this is sixth andseventh all time four and seven, four
and seven, four and seven.Yeah, did you just make it harder

(44:22):
instead of making it easier? No? No, they like this guy played
one hundred plus games for the club, and then I know the other guy
did as well. My alarm wentoff and tell me I should answer this
question. I'll give you a I'llgive you a hint. I'll give you
a hint. Um one is adual national for the for Canada in the

(44:43):
United States, Deal Bunbury. That'snumber seven. So then who's the other
they played together? Who the otheris it? Johnny Russell? Keep going?
Is it? They played number four? Wire? He scored ninety goals.
Nope, scored nine d goals inMajor League Soccer. Um. Wait,
so he played with teal Bunbury earlierin his career. That's what you're

(45:06):
saying. Correct at Sporting Kansas City? Is it this cjson Pong? Wow?
So they play together right now?Oh yeah, so what they do?
They do? Play together right now? Completely forgot the deals there,
but yeah they played together now,so they found themselves again. Yeah,
oh my god. Yeah. CJ. Sapong currently has ninety goals in his

(45:27):
fourth in the all time active scores. I'm still good. De Van got
MAXI Rudy. I feel like that'sa way for us. That is a
big win. So yeah, that'sI just thought it was fun. I
hope other people yelled at me andU and got the list too huge one.
Okay, that's the MLS round up. Well, we can act,
we'll chats and national team stuff.We'll also get to what we missed because

(45:49):
we went super long talking all thisMLS goodness. But we'll touch on some
news coming up next on if hewelcome back to AFP. We didn't get
to this in the last segment,but definitely we're touching on. Its really

(46:10):
sad news Vox Media laying off sevenpercent of their staff, and many of
those staff affected run various MLS blogsthat have provided a ton of content throughout
the years. I'm speaking for myselfand saying that I've come to rely on
these places for being the hub fortheir clubs and being a place for fans

(46:32):
to gather and sound off, whetherit be in the comments or in fan
posts or in general, and Ireally came to rely and love them,
and Waking the Red the Toronto ofC blog is very close to our hearts
in terms of following this club ona daily basis and producing some really excellent
writers who've gone on to do somegreat things and people who are still doing
great things at Waking the Red now. So I just want to reiterate what

(46:57):
I've seen and heard in the daysand just say what an invaluable resource that
community was. It will continue tobe in different places, because I think
the most hardening aspect of this Davidas well, has been the community rallying
around and being like, we're goingto continue what we're doing. Esp Nation
or not. We're going to tryand keep covering these clubs, but it's

(47:20):
up to people, regular people likeus to support them when they do it.
Yeah, most of these people it'snot their full time job, so
they're taking time out of their freetime to do things like that, and
so you need to support if youif you care about these things. And
I know it sucks that like wedon't have the environment that can support it

(47:43):
by itself, but I know,as you said, like covering, it's
impossible to cover this league without thoseplatforms, so I don't know what we're
going to do. We're worse offfor it as growing the sport. And
if you have frustrations with the federationof the countries you live in, or
the clubs or the leagues, noone else is really asking hard questions right

(48:06):
now except for the people that workat these platforms and worked on these blogs.
So I would highly recommend supporting whenyou can and like following everyone just
as because I don't know what's goingto happen with like espionation and vox locking
out the accounts and changing the namesand all that stuff, So I'd highly
recommend. I saw the Houston Dynamoblog already re format itself and relaunched.

(48:30):
I'm hearing some of the other onesare going to do similar things as well,
so I definitely am gonna try andpony up and support as much as
I can, and definitely try andamplify what they're doing. But like,
there might be MLS press conferences emptynow because you lose those platforms. Like
the league has come really far,but it's got a really long way to

(48:51):
go in a lot of ways.And there are some clubs that are only
covered by that We're only covered bytheir espionation blogs, and there are some
clubs where the most robust and qualitycoverage comes from that blog. And I
have no idea what's going to happennow going forward? Sucks. I saw
in the Apple deal old the pressconferences will be televised as well, like

(49:13):
the postmatch stuff. Who's gonna bethere for those? Right? Um?
Those people, people that were coveringthese teams day in and day out.
So yeah, that's that's shitty newsto begin the season with. And yet
another example of the digital media landscapethese days. What a place, folks.

(49:34):
It's not great. I don't haveany I don't have anything uplifting to
add to that if you want tosegue to national team news. But god
damn, let's get to the nationalteam news though, And we'll begin with
the States, this States as everyonecalls them, Yes, right, the
States, um January camp, maybethe most fascinating January camp one could have

(49:58):
post World Cup wheneveryone's like, oh, airs, why are they playing games?
Why are they joining up together?We just saw them blah blah blah.
But this time around, obviously,things are a lot different for the
the US no current coach. Prettypretty interesting group of players called in DG
in terms of the the assortment ofthe leagues they play in and the stories

(50:20):
that you carry with them. Julianand Gresslo getting a call up Unattached FC,
represented by Sean Johnson for now atleast, Wow, Wow, Canada
rise up? He saw Chris Bouchehoop. He saw Chris Bouche hoop at
the Scotia Bank. He saw themhoop at um. How do you?

(50:42):
Maybe the better question, David islike, not outside of the coaching stuff,
which I think God knows who we'llend up in that soccer But the
players called up some really cool storieshere. But if you had to pick
one of this group, who areyou excited to see play against Serbia in
Colombia? This team is not asexciting as I wanted to be. I

(51:04):
like, don't need I don't knowwhy you're calling in the like Vets who
just played in the World Cup.That's just my own personal thing of like
where we stand right now, wedon't have qualifying you have three and a
half years to build this thing again. Like I don't know, I just
felt like, why not call ina different group of people, And you
mentioned some of the interesting names,like a Sam Rodgers who's playing over in

(51:24):
Europe. And obviously Zenda Has isthe big one, Like I had heard
rumors that he was actually on theUS preliminary roster for the World Cup,
if you remember, man, Ican't even remember dates now because the whole
World Cup was weird, but therewas the fifty five man list. Some
countries released them publicly, some didn't. The US didn't. That was the

(51:47):
list you had to pull your twentythree from and when guys got hurt or
twenty six, you could swap themin and out for that. And my
herd Zonda Has actually was on theUS one, which never got confirmed.
Obviously he was ever used. Andthen now it comes out that he's going
to join the US and Mexico haslost points in past games because they illegally

(52:08):
used him as a player, whichis I don't know. That feels like
an easy w for US Soccer offthe back of that one. Maybe they're
only w in a really long timefrom a federation standpoint. So he's the
big one. Like the way he'splaying right now for Club America, he's
a borderline starter for the US.And that's not a player that you normally

(52:31):
find in a January camp, andobviously they're not finding him, but just
to get him in the group andget him involved, I think that's sort
of the most important one. Andthen it's the young Like the point of
this game should have always been theyoung guy. So it's Jonathan Gomez,
It's John Tolkien, Paxson, Aaronsonobviously if he plays, if he doesn't,
Aidan Morris, Like, it's guyslike that that a January camp should

(52:52):
be built around. And that's whereI'm kind of confused. While you have
the veteran pieces here of just likegive them a break, like let them
take some time off, let themgo be trained with their clubs for the
ones that are in preseason and likeget ready for a good season. It
just it feels unnecessary to me.But you know, Anthony Hudson's coaching a

(53:13):
USMNT team in about two or threedays. So this is the world we
live in. Did you see Grana'scelebration after he scored his goal for which
one? All seven of them inthe he did every every screw U celebration
on the same goal. I loveit. I love it. I bet

(53:34):
you do, Sean, I betyou he's going for a heel and the
wrestling fan and he also likes thatas well. Yeah, what a what
a weird couple of weeks. Soyou let's just abstract with you two.
The US. Your national team playsa game in three days. Your coach
says you're not going to be asinvolved as you'd like to be. Does

(53:57):
anyone think that means for the wholetournament or for the game coming up?
That the lineup I just set publiclyto everyone. And it's like I talked
to some people off the record whowere around and they said the behavior was
like shocking from RNA. After that, I just can't believe that Greg borrow
Halter would say, oh, heyman, you're not gonna play at the

(54:20):
World Cup, like he clearly was, Like, by the way we've set
the team for leads, you arenot in the starting lineup because obviously you
assumed a player of Geo's quality,he would think when fit and healthy,
he would be part of the startinglineup. So that to me is what
I think that conversation was. Butit's so crazy. Okay, cool,

(54:44):
But David, just to extrapolate ita little bit. If you've known a
guy for twenty thirty years and youtell this guy that you know son that
he's not playing in a World Cupgame, a me, the other two
parties try to blackmail them, right, that's like that's like, that's that's

(55:06):
the step, that's the next step. Procedure lifelong friends black A wild one
has been the like this is thisis a reflection on like US US youth
sports parent culture, Like this isyou know, US soccer, Like this
is why US soccer isn't world classbecause like the parents are customers and the

(55:30):
parents are demanding, and it's likeyou think Cloudio Rena and his wife are
standard soccer parents. The guy captainstwo European Champions League squads. Yeah,
this is not John and Jill fromdown the street whose kid can't kick a

(55:51):
ball and demand that he starts becausethey're paying thirteen hundred dollars a season.
Like that is the wildest reaction thatI have heard it is like, oh,
well, this is why you know, and it's like it's cloudy arena.
This guy doesn't have soccer culture.This guy's never been around the world.
Like it's so he runs upper rationalsoccer. It's so wild hilarious when

(56:15):
Eric Winalda is like the voice ofreason and in this weird things are weird,
man, things are weird. Hegot a he got vindicated, I
think in the end of just hesaid all the stuff and then he backtracked
it. But he turned out thestuff he said was not incorrect. You
just shouldn't have said it. Beingamoving on to Canada where there's no drama.

(56:37):
Ever, let's dunk on you.Jonathan David rebounding from a poor World
Cup to keep bagging goals in France. Seeing his name in the leaderboard with
imbope and messy. I don't knowwhy I gave him the abope treatment with
his pronunciation, but yeah, that'swhere I'm att Damar as well. It's

(56:59):
cool, but I find it interestingto transfer talk regarding JD has kind of
died down the striker market in general. Maybe maybe now is not the time
in Leil's mind to cash in andit seems like summer is more likely.
And I think for all parties involved, that is probably the best move because
I think he's going to keep scoringfor them, so JD prime for a

(57:22):
big move. But I wonder,and you guys tell me if this is
an unfair thing to say to JD. But I wonder if he's looking at
what's going on with his friend KyleLaron and really thinking about this next move
for him and how important it isto really suss out where is the best
spot for me because he's seen Kylemaybe not regret but rethink his decision,

(57:45):
his recent decision to go where hedid and where he's found found playing time
so hard to come by that he'shad to transfer again. So do you
guys think that that's something that that'sin the back of JD's mind as well
as he's getting ready to make thismove. I don't want to be offensive,
but like, I don't think JonathanDavid's in the same stratosphere as Kyle

(58:07):
Laren and I like Kyle Laron.Yeah, I think Jonathan David thinks he's
good enough to play at every teamin the world, which he should.
I, as me, would belike you have to find the right spot.
But I don't think. I don'tthink these players see it the same
way we do, because to bewho they are, they have to in
there at their core DNA say,have a chip on their shoulder and say

(58:30):
they're the best player in the world. Hence why all of these players go
to Chelsea and go to Man Cityand go to PSG and then don't play
and they're confused, blah blah blah. So I think Jonathan David's in that
sphere, not because I think anythingnegative of him, because I think he's
elite and like that's the world he'sgonna live in and that's the world he
plays in. Maybe I'll phrase thisdifferently. Chelsea is a good example.

(58:50):
Chelsea has bought fourteen wingers. They'reprobably gonna buy fifteenth winger. They're all
of the same age profile where they'reyoung and don't sound bitter about it.
Devang just damn he looks good.Damn who Anyways, there's fifteen of them.
There's too many of them, andI think that would that would probably
impact my decision making, you know, like in terms of the club,

(59:13):
stature is one thing, but isit all about club stature. Is there
a move where it's not lateral butit's it's not It's not a Liverpool club
begging for goals or begging for asolution. It's not a Chelsea club that
doesn't have a striker and is playingkai hards there because there's no one really
else because vommyang is done? Likeis it there right or is it?

(59:36):
Is it somewhere where it's maybe notas much cash, but it's it's more
practical to make this decision. Ithink it'll probably be the second one,
and I think that his opportunity thereis that I don't think Leo can hold
out any longer, Like this isa club that has shifted ownership because their
reality has shifted. So yeah,I think he will go at that lower

(59:58):
number too. I don't know ifMilan's the right team to say, because
you don't know what happens with Jerudin'sLaton and all their other pieces, But
it feels like that's probably the nextstep for him, and I think that's
the right move for him, althoughI still want him to go to Real
Madrid. I mentioned Kyle Aaron Validolid, looks like that's this is going to

(01:00:22):
be the end destination for him.I think Cadiz is also in for him,
but not playing at Bruge, needingto get out and find some playing
time. Honestly, I have ahard time lamenting Laren's decision making because I
think he he was faced with ahandful of options that were so similar yet

(01:00:44):
dissimilar that I can't really fault himfor making that pick. Like, I
don't know, if he goes toGreece, is that a surefire win?
Probably not, Maybe not. Maybeit is. If he decides to stay
in Turkey and be where he's been, he is he still the focal point
of that team. Maybe not.So I'm not gonna harp on him for

(01:01:05):
going to Belgium, but it's shittyto see the way it worked out.
I guess it's fair to say thatI was hoping he was going to play
more there, but getting out nowthis is all This is all you can
really do, and to go toLaaliga. It's not the worst thing in
the world, but it relegation threatremains there legacy. While so Kyle Aaron,
was there a part of you thatwanted to see him back in MLS

(01:01:27):
when this news came out? No, I think he's got more. I
think he has more in Europe.And yeah, I actually hadn't thought about
him coming back to MLS this timebecause we had heard rumors last time,
but no one had really been connectedthis time. And I just think I

(01:01:47):
think it'll be cool for him,and I think he's good enough to play
at a higher level, you know. So I hadn't really thought about that.
And I don't know that there waslike one team that was starving for
a center forward that was going topay him. It would really only have
been Vancouver, right, Well,there is a team in Toronto that has

(01:02:07):
a designated player open that needed astarting striker. Nod one, do they
need a starting striker? Didn't theygive Jesu simens million dollars and didn't they
give contract. I'm just saying theyjust brought in a new starting striker who
hadn't really not at the same levelof spend. No, But once again,

(01:02:28):
this is all all on the assumptionthat Io is going to be moved
on. Jesus Simmonez is going tobe moved on, Like there's money there
if they could move on with theseguys. There's one point five million dollars
in both Io and Jesus combined,Like there's there, Like how do you
call him Jesus? And where feelmuch already city Easter already? For some

(01:02:52):
reason I thought of the Polish Leaguewhen you mentioned him and as and just
to remind myself that Poland almost hiredStephen Girard to be there national team manager.
Yeah, yeah, Gerard didn't wantto. He didn't want his family
have to win to Birmingham. Buthe's gonna coach the Polish I saw that
name, I'm like, what whatdid? Who is Harry what? Um?

(01:03:15):
Still not as incredible as Roberto Martinezmanaging Portugal now, but we'll talk
about that at another day. Iwanted to end on this guy's Ismael Kone
playing for Watford getting some starts,captivating the fans over there. Have you
gotten a chance to see him,Sean I have? Um, yeah,
I've gotten the chance to watch himand I was texting with David earlier on

(01:03:37):
a week ago whatever. But justhow impressive he is when you just watch
him play, how effortless he makesthe game feel at no matter the level
he plays at, And that's justwhat's so captivating and so on inspiring of
it. At all. It's likethat. I don't think no matter the
level he'll ever play, if he'splaying in the Champions League Final, whatever,

(01:04:00):
he's gonna be that cool, calm, collective guy that'll just lob a
player or nutmeg them and just makeit look so casual like he had been
just doing it on the park inMontreal. So, uh, it's really
nice to see. He still hasa lot of work to do to be
a final product, but I thinkhe has the uh, the ability and
the mentality to take it to thenext level, which is really nice.

(01:04:27):
Didn't he start like his second evergame there? Yeah yeah, yeah,
yeah, it's wild. He is. He's specialized. He's a stud.
No, he's a stud everything Seansaid, I totally agree with him,
like it a lot or if that'snot the top for him, you know,
like he's going to do this againa couple of times and it might
be more than it should. Likebeing a Canadian, I know that sometimes

(01:04:51):
I say on this like relax withthe chip on the shoulder, like it's
not really there, but you knowit's still different. Like there isn't really
the known, you know, pathfor him to take, so he might
have to still do two to threemoves to get to his top level.
But yeah, I just can't picturehim in a team at a level looking

(01:05:14):
out of place. And so ifthat's the case, if you can at
least hang, teams are going tokeep giving you shots till you prove that
you've reached your ceiling. I'll endon this fun geographical fact wat for his
training ground, it's literally right besidearsenals. So you'll see Schmile Colone playing
for the gunners sooner than later.That's the prediction. I'll make there top

(01:05:38):
of the league Arsenal. By theway, I just wanted to get that
in there, all right. Thatis the national team roundup. Said that
at the end, so no onecould reply to my comments or talks back
to me or say it's early,or say it's January, because I know
all these things and it is early. But yeah, we'll leave it there

(01:05:59):
when we come back throughout the show, it's the mailbag. Ask welcome back
to AFP. Before we close offtoday's show, a reminder we are on
Patreon dot com. Seannee, what'sgoing on in discord Land? Yeah,

(01:06:24):
no, it Discord's still popping off. It's still going It's a great place.
We tell you every week it's uh, it's the place to come.
Support us. We chat with youevery week. We keep up to date
on whether it's Major League Soccer signing, CPL signings, what's going on in
the Premier League, if Harry's Kaneis the greatest striker of all time.

(01:06:45):
All these types of things um allin the discord UM. And on top
of that, you get if yousign up for Patreon, you get the
episode a day early, you getit AD free, and you support a
show that you hopefully love. Wellsaid my friend. Head on over at
to patreon dot com. Forward slashyour football podcasts. Support us there,

(01:07:06):
you get the show ad free,you get it early on a day we
record. Plus you joined the discordwhere we're chatting footy all the time,
including today where there was some conversationregarding MLS transfer news and the latest Sean
John speculation. All right, Sean, let's get to the mailbag. It's

(01:07:27):
now time for ASKINGFP. We're Devangand David. We'll do their best to
answer all the questions. First onecomes in from the Patreon discord. We
got mal ass asked what was yourfavorite Canadian or American for David moment of
the World Cup. So we're takingthis back to early December for this one
favorite moment, now that we've gottime to breathe take it back in for

(01:07:50):
the US at the World Cup,would honestly say probably Timothy Wayne's goal against
Wales. And I've said this afew times looking back, but it was
unknown how the we're going to performor react to that level. Right A
World Cup is a World Cup.You can play a Champions League final,
it's still not the same, likethat is the thing you all strive for.

(01:08:14):
It was literally a roster with completelynew pieces except DeAndre Yedlin. Everyone
was playing in their first World Cupgame and so for them to boss the
game the way I thought they could, and then the quality of that goal
and into Pulisic's feet and breaking linesand then way of coming off the wing,
a guy that I've been so excitedto watch grow as a player over

(01:08:36):
the last few years, and theoutside of the foot finish and take the
lead, and it kind of feltlike that was going to be the start
of something. It was really special. And that was that first because it
was only the second day of theWorld Cup, so that was like for
me, the first big moment maybeSaudi Arabia being in Argentina that morning was
too of like, oh my god, the World Cup's here, and like

(01:08:59):
each little kick is gonna matter everythingfor the history of these teams. So
yeah, that would be the bigone, great pick I pardon me,
wants to say the Faunsy goal,but I do think for me it'll be
the opening half against Belgium, andthat's a lot to choose from. But
the way they played and the wayeveryone was taken aback by had, how

(01:09:21):
Canada played, and all these peopleI followed on Twitter for different reasons because
they covered the big leagues and thebig clubs, they were all talking about
Canada for once, and I'll alwaysremember that. Even though they didn't ended
up winning the game, and eventhough we did get a Faunzi goal and
a goal in a World Cup,which is a massive moment, I think

(01:09:42):
just because everything happened so quickly afterwardsagainst Croatia, didn't really say get at
all. And even though they didlose the Belgium, we still had that
moment of being the center of thesoccer world, even just for ninety minutes
at least, So I will alwaysremember that now. I like that the
most I think out of everything thathappened. Staying on with World Cup,
Dan h asks, I'm gonna takehalf of this one, but task which

(01:10:04):
team had the worst World Cup relativeto their pretermin expectations. Devang you go
first because I picked them. Iwant to say Uruguay because they really really
did not live up to my highbuilding. Yeah, for what I expected.
I might pick Belgium as well,because one of those situations where you

(01:10:25):
knew was going to be a disaster, You had an idea it was going
to be disaster for I don't knowhow many months, eighteen possibly, where
the vibes are off and nobody likedeach other and they're like, oh hell
hell with it. Will just goanyways and see how it goes. Which
doesn't need to be a World Cupto know that's a bad situation. If
you're going on a trip with peopleyou don't like, I have a feeling

(01:10:45):
that trip is going to suck,and I think that's what happened for Belgium.
So I feel like Uruguay and Belgiumwill be my picks. So I
think Denmark is one of the onesto me, like they had a lifeless
World Cup when it was are theyready to break through? Like are they
one of those teams now? SoI think that's one of the big ones
that stands out to me. Ithink Uruguay's up there as well, Devang

(01:11:09):
and especially the way they went outof Like if we had tried the first
two games, yeah, we couldhave been a factor, but I don't
think you can avoid Mexico because ofthe quality of their group. And like
again, the way it happened toplay like trash the first game, struggle
a bit, but be in agame with Argentina at times in the second

(01:11:31):
game, and then wake up inthe second half of the third game where
it's like, okay, cool.If you had done this for twenty more
minutes in the other two games,you're probably going through to the next round.
So I think those are the threebig ones that stand out to me
from the group stage. And thenthe one I'd say for the knockouts,
it's got to be Brazil. Ilike this Brazil team, I think statistically,

(01:11:55):
was by betting odds, the biggestfavorite we've had in the modern error
going into a World Cup, andthey just turned off for the last five
minutes of a knockout game against Croatia, da doing the pigeon dance will go
down as one of the most fatalblows I have a coach, but it's

(01:12:16):
gonna be one of those things wherethat and like that game and all those
goals and the bike kick, it'sgoing to be disassociated because the world,
like people are gonna be like,well, happened to Brasil at that World
Cup? Like when you see thoseclips later on, you know what I
mean, Like you see some ofthese goals where you or like it'll win
next World Cup, and it willbe like everyone will assume those goals were
happened in twenty twenty six, becauseyou look back times where like players do

(01:12:41):
great things and you're like, oh, well that was the World Cup they
went to the final, Like no, no, that was actually a different
World Cup where the team sucked.But you only have one memory of these
people. Moving on, s McGinnisasked what are your favorite and least favorite
MLS kits of all time? David, let's start with you. So my

(01:13:01):
favorites. Wow, that's a toughquestion. I think you definitely have to
say the like Argyle SKC look thatthey came out with at some point and
then have kind of worked with fora long time and have shifted it.
I love a collar, So Iactually like some of the whites that La
Galaxy have done over the years.Like when Beckham first came, they actually

(01:13:23):
put together even the blues they had, they put together some really nice kits.
Jersey's whatever term we're gonna use whateverworld we're in right now, so
those would all be up there.I mean the fact that the Houston Animal
ever had a black jersey while playingin Texas and somewhere is comical to me.

(01:13:45):
There's so many bad MLS ones it'slike hard to pick one very good
point. I generally I never theearthquake stuff. I never really did anything
for me. The Sounds a clubmotif, yeah, as a lifestyle,
as a brand, the Sounder's colorI just don't like at all. And
I know it's their whole thing,but no, thanks, um, you

(01:14:09):
know. I do like though,And I like their old old kids Kansas
City consistently. I've liked their kidslike they're old, like the nineties kits,
the ninety six kit in particular,I love the colors on that,
and I like the Caller too,So I'll go with the Kansas City Wizards
shows to Jimmy Conrad. If you'retalking about clubs Minnesota, consistently, I

(01:14:30):
like they always they have a button. I like the gray, I like
the loon blue stuff. I likethe sash. They've had some that are
better than others, but pretty consistently, they're one that I would always wear
in my everyday fair enough. Yeah, I was just going to shout out
the early days DC United. Justthe black and white or the white and
black. I just when I thinkof, just like a proper jersey kit

(01:14:57):
whatever, it just I loved it. It just made It was the one
thing that stood out from like somany loud, obnoxious ninety six ninety seven
kits. It was just a staplethat I loved. I played pick up
on Sunday and someone I pick uphad a Metro Stars striped jersey like red
and black with a white pin stripeinside. And it was legit. Oh

(01:15:19):
yeah, I yeah. That wasthe first team I ever saw in Major
League Soccer. Was was them againstthe Revs, and they Clint Mathis was
up for the Metro Stars. Itwas a hell of a time. Um,
long shots, we're talking today iswhat the twenty third of January,
twenty fourth, janet, January whatever? Today is? Um, who is

(01:15:42):
your early favorite twin MLS Cup?Devang, Let's go with you, Toronto
FC. No, I'm only thirtypercent joking there. I in my scientific
research, I was looking at theaverage age of these players club and based
on this in depth research, you'retwenty twenty three MLS Cup winners will be

(01:16:10):
Charlotte FC because of the age ofthe players on the team. I don't
know if you didn't explain that twentythree around twenty four the average age,
because it's twenty twenty three and theaverage age is twenty three. Connect the
dots. I also think Carol Swooderskiis gonna win MVP. So there,

(01:16:30):
there you go, Charlotte FC fromthe backcourt. You heard it first.
Anything is possible. I appreciate thelong shot. Uh wow, okay,
I'm I'm just gonna go basic.Then, since you took all the crazy
out of the room, and I'llsay Philadelphia, Yeah, they were retiring

(01:16:54):
everyone. They've got something to prove, so they're probably gonna play with the
champ where other teams. You know, you win something, you sort of
lose focus a bit, and they'rethey've progressed every year, right. They
went from no playoffs, the playoffs, no playoff wins, the playoff wins,
no playoff wins, the playoff wins, to conference finals, conference finals

(01:17:15):
loss to MLS Cup. Now they'velost MLS Cup so progressively they now need
to win. They need to winit. I'm just gonna throw a little
one out there, and I don'tknow if they'll win at all, but
I think Inter Miami is going totake another step forward this year. I
think the noise of no messy,no Ronaldo is out of the building and

(01:17:35):
Phil can just give just focus onwhat he's got and I do. I
think it'll be interesting to see whatthey do with Pozzuelo, if they do
move him already or not move him, move on with him. But but
I still think that that team isgoing to be a strong team in the

(01:17:57):
East, especially with teams like MontrealNew York not knowing what they're going to
be like this year. I disagree. Really interesting, I think you're underrating
the loss of a certain Alejandro Passuelois So that's the other question is that
it hasn't been stomped yet. Hasit, it's still covers. My understanding

(01:18:19):
is that Messi is still more realisticthan the report. The PSG stuff was
overrated or overreported. Okay, andmy understanding is that they will still leave
a DP spot open if they can, so, so there we go.
Okay, So I'm I'm going todouble down because Ladle Messi is going to
be playing for Uh. Yeah,that's that's my early pick and actually funny

(01:18:45):
enough. The last question is,with Ronaldo being snapped up in Saudi and
Messi looking like you're staying in Paris, who do you think is the next
big designated player to come to MajorLeague Soccer. I'll go first and say
they are. I don't know ifit sounds like Bessie could go to Saudi
Arabia too, though that's not completelydoor closed. Nope. So unless everyone

(01:19:08):
goes to Saudi Arabia, I thinkNeymar might not want to do that and
might want to come to North America. So I'll say him, what does
next mean? Like who is thenext biggest one or who is like the
next one to happen Like we've hadthis Latin, We've had the Beckham to

(01:19:29):
be someone on that. Yeah,of that, like you sort of saw
it a mile away coming that ofcourse they're going to join at some point.
So yeah, I would say ofthat stature. So I've been on
the like Memphis the pie train fora while, but then he went to
at Letty and it feels like youdon't make a move unless it doesn't work
there, and then it's like I'vebeen to the last two clubs it sucked,
Like I'm ready to leave. Ithink he's a possibility just because he's

(01:19:53):
like one of those dudes who comesto the US a lot and does a
lot in the US. I'm gonnago out on a limb here and I'm
gonna say, Kevin Debruna, Ohwow, he's thirty one. Where do
you go from city? Right?Like? What else does he have to
accomplish after this except winning Champions League, which I assume he'll hope happens at

(01:20:14):
City. I know he spends abunch of time in the US as well.
I think a lot of the guysthat we put on that list,
like if it's not Messi or Ronaldo, I don't really know that they're the
right age anymore, you know whatI mean. Like, I think a
lot of guys are gone or aretoo young, because I think a lot
of the star names right now areearly primes. So yeah, I'm gonna

(01:20:38):
say Debrina. I should have mentionedNeamar will come to into Miami to hang
out with his best friend jay OrBolsonaro did depose Resilian president, right,
so, oh boy, he's inOrlando. Just you know, get get
your facts. I just wanted tokeep getting picture straight. Did you see

(01:20:58):
the picture of him in the USMNTkit? No, Oh my god,
he was wearing the World Cup USMNTkit signing autographs outside his house in Orlando.
Oh boy, I'm just I'm justlucky for my brand that it wasn't
the States T shirt that he waswearing. No, it's not the States.
He's probably a big States guy though, you know States rights, So

(01:21:19):
it's a similar vibe. Um justshout out to UH and I. Once
again, this one's a long shot, but it was something that was rumored
a couple of years ago. WasRobert Lewandowski. Yeah, but he's scoring
for Fun at Barcelona right now.But once again, I think he has
the cachet and Chicago's probably licking theirlips. But but that's the guy I

(01:21:41):
would put on my list. Justso you all know. The Discord literally
just went off on my phone.So that's the noise that everyone heard was
the Discord chapter. I want toadd though to that, uh lukaku.
Oh, that's a good one.If it doesn't you know, if he's
done playing get into at some point. I don't know that he needs to
go and do the whole thing againto find another club, and ben Tech

(01:22:04):
has already come here, I guess. I guess My point is every Belgian
needs to it's gonna come to theHazard, yeah or Canada. Yeah.
All right, We'll leave it there. That's all we have today. A
reminder, a rating, andy review. Wherever you get this podcast would be
incredible for us plus hit us upon Twitter at a Football Pod as well

(01:22:25):
as on Patreon, dot com forwardSlash a football podcast. Join us there,
you get the show out free,you get it early when you record,
and you get access to that thingthat pinged on David's phone to Discord
where we're chatting footy all the time. On that note, we wanted to
let you guys know that we're goingback on hiatus for a bit, at

(01:22:46):
least until the beginning of the MLSseason as we look to retool the show
a bit and change things up aheadof the season and get into the lab,
as the kids say, to cookup some cool ideas for you guys.
So we'll be away for another fewweeks, but sit tight and stay

(01:23:08):
tuned for what's coming next for thisseason. So for Zach and Greg behind
the scenes making sure this show soundsgreat, thank you to them. And
for David and Sean, thank youfor listening to AFP. We'll talk to
you next time.