Gio Reyna Stuns Vs Paraguay, Michael Bradley's USMNT Advice, & MLS Calendar Changes| Unfiltered Soccer

Speaker 1 That was why our group was so special, right? Was because we had the years and the experiences and the games and the trips and the camps that just built up.

Speaker 1 And so then, when all was said and done, and we got our chance, like we were ready to die for each other. And you don't just snap your fingers and get that.

Speaker 2 Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S.
soccer for over five years.

Speaker 3 Welcome into Unfiltered Soccer. He's Landon.
I'm Tim. We are your host, LD, my guy.
Do you see my shirt, by the way? Do you see my shirt?

Speaker 2 What is that?

Speaker 3 It's the Timberwolves Prince

Speaker 2 City Edition. You were in the hardwood, weren't you?

Speaker 3 I was in Minnesota with my best friend. He's the assistant GM at the Timberwolves, and we were rocking.
It looks so cool. The Prince Edition, they've just played Prince all night.

Speaker 1 It was wild. Wild, well.
Anyway,

Speaker 2 when I grew up, I want to be as rich as you. You either have a lot of homes or or you travel a lot and vacation a lot.

Speaker 3 This is very rich coming from a man like yourself. Yes, I am traveling.

Speaker 3 I'm on vacation. I took time out of my vacation to talk with you for over an hour.
You're welcome. Appreciate that.

Speaker 2 All right, guys. As always, follow us on social media at Unfiltered Soccer.
Email Jordan feedback at Unfiltered Soccer.

Speaker 2 Subscribe to the show on YouTube, Apple, Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasts. All right.
We had a big game last week, on the weekend. National team 2-1 over Paraguay.

Speaker 2 That is now four unbeaten for this team.

Speaker 2 I just want to start by saying, I'm not saying I'm the reason that Flo has scored in the last three games, but since I showed up and watched him live in Austin, he has now scored in three consecutive games.

Speaker 2 So very good for him.

Speaker 2 It's great now, and Pochtino would echo this. We've stopped talking about the fight and the hunger and the desire and all that is now standard.
And now we can talk about the performances.

Speaker 2 And the performances across the board, I thought were at a minimum good and in some cases, excellent.

Speaker 2 Let's start with the first goal.

Speaker 2 Max Arsen finds himself on the right side after a corner kick. And you're seeing Tim over and over his value.
And at some point,

Speaker 2 I mean, even when Jedi's back.

Speaker 2 He just keeps performing, right? And so at some point, and I think Pochatino has shown that he's willing to stick with the hot hand and you earn the spot again. He's just over and over delivering.

Speaker 2 And he had that cross for Gio's goal. And we'll get into Gio in a bit.

Speaker 2 He had another really good, like cultured little right-footed cross at the end of the game, like a little dink cross. And

Speaker 2 all that work with his right foot has paid off a lot.

Speaker 3 Yeah. Well, you know, I tend to agree with you about the fight.

Speaker 3 that the team has shown. And, you know, I think that we saw bits of, well,

Speaker 3 we've seen enough of it, I think, recently to say that I think they've turned the corner.

Speaker 3 And there is a there is a togetherness with this group we certainly saw it last camp and we sung the praises of uh chris richards and and you know in terms of how colossus he was and and and tough and and what a leader that that he felt like so yeah this this group um certainly had that it's good to see you know it's good to see from a us team because i think it's

Speaker 3 whatever anyone else says on the outside and we're on the outside

Speaker 3 that That shows you something. That shows you something like they care, that it means more.

Speaker 3 something, something. It just, it gives you an idea of like, yes, we can critique individual performances, the overall team performances, the scoreline, but like at a baseline, the U.S.

Speaker 3 men's national team has to be able to roll their sleeves up. And they showed that.

Speaker 3 Max Arfson, yeah.

Speaker 3 you know it's fingers crossed time right now for for jedi robinson because you just you just want him to get fit or fit enough and healthy enough to wear one he's playing all the time but two for for his own for his own well-being you know what it's like.

Speaker 3 You don't want him to have to be dragging through a week of training just to get on the pitch, right? And so hopefully for him, he's able to get that sorted out, you know, some fingers crossed.

Speaker 3 I've said all along, and I don't know if the experiment, if the experimental process is sort of waning because there's just not a lot of time.

Speaker 3 I did see a world where he and Arsen were on the pitch at the same time. Like there was a form, there was a back three plus wing backs or a winger.
I saw that. But either way, it looked a hot hand.

Speaker 3 It's great. It's great.
Competition was

Speaker 3 amazing.

Speaker 2 Arsenal, like with his ability to go by people on the right, too, that way. Yeah.
Why not play him on the right, right, at some short?

Speaker 2 I mean, his right foot is, it's not as good as his left, but it's pretty damn close. So

Speaker 3 I've actually been impressed with him because I think sometimes I remember sitting.

Speaker 3 Did you play with Louis Saha at Everton? Were you there that stint? I was. So Louis Saha's brilliant, French striker, played at Fulham and had a great time at Man United.
And he came to Everton.

Speaker 3 And I remember sitting in the Man United dressing room. I'll get back to Arsene in a second.
And

Speaker 3 he took a chance fell for him late on and he smacked it with his left foot, but he dragged it.

Speaker 3 So Sir Alex Ferguson comes in the dressing room and gives him one and says, Louis, why are you, the chance fell for you, take away your right foot. Why did you take away your left foot?

Speaker 3 And Louis goes, my friend, I'm both.

Speaker 3 He called Sir Alex Ferguson, my friend. I was like, this guy's crazy.
Anyway, but sometimes when people are like, I'm both foot, I'm like, I'm both. Okay, okay, sure.

Speaker 3 But like, and he was, but also Max is showing that. Like he's willing to go on the inside.
He's willing to cross it, chop it, right foot, left foot. Like it's, it's pretty awesome.

Speaker 2 It's impressive. And it's one thing to like pass a ball into the corner with your right foot, but he's hitting these like little chip, little deaf little crosses with her.
I'm like, that's hard to do.

Speaker 2 That's hard to do. Flow was not great in the game, but he shows up and scores the goal.
And I want to get to the peppy chance too in a minute, the missed pepe chance. But

Speaker 2 that is exactly what you want from a striker. Tim, I cannot tell you how many games I was absolute dog crap in the game.
And a chance fell, and bang, and all of a sudden you're the hero. Yeah.

Speaker 2 And that's, I mean, that's why they get paid the money and that's why they get the criticism when they miss. But another goal for him,

Speaker 2 really good from Flo.

Speaker 3 Yeah. And good.

Speaker 2 No, I was just going to say, and then, you know, I do want to move on to the center back.

Speaker 3 But about Flo.

Speaker 3 Let me jump in.

Speaker 3 With Flo, we've been desperate. We've constantly said, like, this team needs a consistent striker.
He is the best striker on the roster, hands down.

Speaker 3 And when you are that person, you need to do it in the big games, the small games, the friendlies, the competitive, whatever it is. Like, you just need to score.
And so that's what Flo's doing.

Speaker 3 He has incredible ability. Long may that continue.
And what I've said, and you said, okay, was it his greatest game? Doesn't matter.

Speaker 3 At the end of the day, a striker has had a really good game if he scores a goal and a story, right? And I've always said, like, and you know this about me, I've always said, like,

Speaker 3 I don't care what my striker does as long as he scores. Like, if my striker wants to go, I'm taking most of the plays off.
I'm like, fine, we'll defend for you. We got, we got nine, ten others.

Speaker 3 We're good, but score.

Speaker 3 And so he did that. And that was, that's, that's the most important thing.

Speaker 2 Amen.

Speaker 2 All right. That leads us to the Unfiltered Refresh, sponsored as always by Coors Light.
Choose chill. Get Coors Light delivered.
Go to CoorsLight.com/slash USLNT.

Speaker 2 Tim,

Speaker 2 when we saw the roster come out and we saw Gio Reyna's name on it, we were certainly surprised by it, as were many people.

Speaker 2 When we saw the lineup come out and we saw Gio's name on it, we were certainly surprised. But man, did he choose chill, not only with the goal, his performance was good.

Speaker 2 Someone I really trust texted me and said, if we get this Gio

Speaker 2 playing for the national team, it changes changes everything. And I thought he was good, very good at times, scored the goal, had the lead up to the second goal.
Go ahead. Tell him your thoughts.

Speaker 3 I feel vindicated because I've never wavered on Gio Reynolds. And everyone knows that, right? But like,

Speaker 3 side note, this is going to sound crazy. He's so much bigger than I always think of.

Speaker 3 I always think of Gio, maybe because I knew him as a baby or something. Like, I'm always like,

Speaker 3 he's like smaller. He ain't.
He's a big kid, man.

Speaker 3 Geo was great. I think he was,

Speaker 3 he's talented. He's talented.
He possesses skills.

Speaker 3 You know, he's, again, I talked about he's, he's one of very few American players who's willing to take the ball under pressure in big moments and is comfortable with that, right?

Speaker 3 He's got a nasty side to him. He's got an arrogant side to him.

Speaker 3 He's powerful.

Speaker 3 I think Meal Pac said he reads the game well, finds space in between lines.

Speaker 3 I agree. I mean, I just think that I think it's

Speaker 3 that's not the issue. The issue is can he can he play big minutes at his club? Can he then be called in consistently?

Speaker 3 And you just hope that this camp, you know, I almost almost circle it on the calendar, right?

Speaker 3 Like if he goes from strength to strength after this game and then does the business in the winter months with his club and comes in in March and da da da da,

Speaker 3 then yeah. Then I'm excited for it.
You know, then I think we look at this and go, that could have been the turning point.

Speaker 2 And importantly, I hope, and I don't know this, we'll find out this week through people in and around camp that his mentality has been good. He's humble.

Speaker 2 He's come in and worked hard, done the right thing. So if he plays again against Uruguay, the other thing that happens is you play well.
If he plays well again, you go back to Gladbach confident.

Speaker 2 The coach noticed. At some point, Tim, he's going to get a chance to start.
And then he's got to take that opportunity at Gladbach and hold it and never give it back.

Speaker 3 Yeah. And

Speaker 3 that's what we talked about with, you know, we even talked about with some other players last week. It's like everything you do is being judged.

Speaker 3 So look, if he, if he has two knockout games, um, of course, this camp, then his club's going to pay attention. They have to.
It's normal. So that's a good thing.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 Well, Gio, cheers to you for choosing Chill. Congrats on back in with the team, back in with the national team.
And long may it continue.

Speaker 2 So center back. So Scally started as a right center back.
It was very interesting.

Speaker 2 He was okay, not great. I can't imagine that's a long-term solution, but it was good to build some depth and to get Scally back into the group.
So now we've talked about this roster, and

Speaker 2 you know, we will get to a point soon here where we're going to start to put together what we think the roster will be.

Speaker 2 But that's a guy who can add depth, has experience, can play a bunch of positions. So getting him back in was good.
Let's talk about their goal, Paraguay's goal. So I'm curious from your standpoint.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 2 I think it's Sergino falls asleep in the back, and they play a ball over the top.

Speaker 2 And then Miles Robinson is a step late to respawn. And Paraguay crosses it into the middle, and the guy bounces, and

Speaker 2 the guy scores.

Speaker 2 A few things. So, one, it was pretty poor defending, I think, from both Serginho and Miles just being a second.
You know, as a defender, you're always preparing for the worst.

Speaker 2 You should be preparing for the worst case scenario. Miles should be, if this ball gets played over, I got to be the first to get back into the 18 to clear this ball.

Speaker 2 And some of the best strikers I played with were the opposite. Think about like, I didn't play with Chichorito, but like he was just Clint Dempsey.

Speaker 2 Like they were just sniffing, waiting for that moment. Taylor Twellman was like that.
So kudos to Paraguay for making the play.

Speaker 2 But my big question for you is, on the goal, some people asked us, should Matt Freeze come for that ball?

Speaker 2 And my first reaction was like, no, not at all. And then I watched again and I started to think about it.
And I have an opinion on it, but I'm not a goalkeeper. So I'm curious what

Speaker 2 your take is on that.

Speaker 3 So

Speaker 3 just

Speaker 3 really quickly, the start, the center backs, for me,

Speaker 3 what I think is

Speaker 3 when I look at the opening game of the, of the World Cup and the opening two or three games, you've got Tim Ream and you've got Chris Richards.

Speaker 3 And I just don't know, Landon, if we are going to get to a point where we're going, oh, that's the third center back.

Speaker 3 I think it's going to be third center back by committee. I think it's going to be opponent.
I think it's going to be form.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 3 I just, I don't get the sense. And that's by, by the way,

Speaker 3 it's not like this terrible damnation of them. I don't think anyone's particularly stood out.
No one's been awful, but no one's just like stood out, like the other two. So

Speaker 3 that's center back. Right.
So the goal, Matt Freese. So

Speaker 3 here's my professional opinion. I wouldn't have come for that ball either, but there's a really

Speaker 3 there's a really important point here. Some goalkeepers are uber aggressive and some aren't.
I was a very near post-conscious goalkeeper. So

Speaker 3 I was reactionary.

Speaker 3 I always gave myself a chance. And rather than risk something

Speaker 3 by being over-aggressive, I was so good at

Speaker 3 reactions and reading shooters that I stayed down. Because you were quick.

Speaker 2 You were so much quicker than most goalkeepers.

Speaker 3 Sure. So I stayed on my line to do that and make those saves.
So when you look at this, when you look at the play, it's not as simple as going, Matt Freeze should have come for it.

Speaker 3 And I'm not really saying, I'm not telling you right now, because I don't know the answer. I don't know if Matt Freeze is an overly aggressive goalkeeper or overly conservative goalkeeper.

Speaker 3 I haven't worked that out yet. But in that play, his positioning was such, and if he's a conservative type goalkeeper, his positioning was such that he's never going to get to that ball, right?

Speaker 3 Like I would never get to that ball because

Speaker 3 I didn't take an aggressive starting position. So I would have arguments with my managers, LD, over the course of my career, and they'd say, Tim, you have have to come for that ball.

Speaker 3 And I'd say, sure, but I'm never going to come for that ball because my starting position isn't aggressive enough.

Speaker 3 And if you want me to reinvent this wheel that I've been working on for the last 20 years, sure, but there's going to be problems with that. Right.
So I was naturally drawn closer to my line.

Speaker 3 So anytime someone said, well, Timmy should have come for that. I said, well, in a perfect world,

Speaker 3 if I was a more aggressive starting position goalkeeper, I could have come for it. But in that particular moment, Matt Fries' starting position wasn't aggressive.

Speaker 3 And that's okay, but he's just not going going to get that ball.

Speaker 3 Okay, so

Speaker 2 I'm just thinking as you're talking about that, there were very few times, I think Mexico in the Gold Cup one time, where like I saw you guess.

Speaker 2 You almost never, if a guy's six yards out and he's about to, you're like, okay, I got to guess.

Speaker 2 And there was one, I think it was Mexico Gold Cup, where you made, you kind of just leaned and made a save. And I was like, oh, wow, you took a chance.
And you had to, because he was in.

Speaker 2 So some goalkeepers do that, they guess, and some don't. My thought is: so, when Al Maron gets to the ball, if if I'm a goalkeeper, I'm begging him to try to smash it near post.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 Because the percentage of scoring that versus what he did is way, way lower. Right.

Speaker 2 So I always thought with goalkeepers, like when a guy gets his head down and he's about to cross it across the goal mouth, if I'm a goalkeeper, I'm like, okay, I can read that and I'm going to just take the chance and like dive across and try.

Speaker 2 So I was always glad when a goalie didn't. And when a goalie did, I was like, damn, I should have hit it near post.
But it's really hard to score near post right here.

Speaker 3 Really hard. So, yeah.
And maybe, maybe. When Almeron gets his head down, do you take a few little short steps or hops? Possibly.

Speaker 3 I think it's slightly nitpicking, but yeah, again, it's.

Speaker 2 I don't, to be clear, I don't think he should have. It's not his fault.

Speaker 3 The goalie is his fault in any way.

Speaker 2 I'm just saying, in that moment, can you do something that really, really helps your team out? Sure. Now, if he smashes it near post, we're all blaming Matt Freeze.

Speaker 3 Sure. So, like, I think that's a good idea.

Speaker 3 To give you an example,

Speaker 3 the perfect example is David Raya at Arsenal.

Speaker 2 If you watch any crosses in those similar positions he's like on a six yard box he's like he's like he's like i dare you right and so and then so that ball comes across and he like sometimes picks it up like you don't even die for it like he just stands standing there right but again an uber aggressive goalkeeper so anyway yeah okay uh last couple of things for me the the brawl at the end was interesting i don't you know there's not a lot to say but i'm just glad like freeman didn't give in of course sebastian berhalter was the first one there um good i love it fight like do not get sent off thank god there was no var

Speaker 2 Don't get sent off, but stick up for your teammates. I thought it was great.

Speaker 3 No, I think that's good.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I agree. Just that Pepe missed chance.
So it was a big moment for him because Flo's been scoring, and this was Pepe back in for a while. I just want to tell people what happened.

Speaker 2 So the two plays, they're not apples to apples, but Flo's goal bounces around, falls to him. His feet are ready and he's set.
And I think Pepe, as the ball gets played across from Reyna,

Speaker 2 I don't think he's anticipating that it's going to get through. And so the ball falls to him.

Speaker 2 And instead of being ready, having your feet set and smashing it with your left foot, now he has to take a touch, a reactionary touch. His touch is too tight to his body.

Speaker 2 Now he has to take another touch. And once you do that, time always favors the defense.
And now they close it and he's stuck.

Speaker 2 And so it's not a make or break moment for him, but that when he's in form and he's in and he's playing all the time, that's like what Flo did. It's just their bang goal.

Speaker 2 And so it was an interesting moment for him. And hopefully with more reps and more time, he gets that.
Because if we get two guys scoring like that, Tim, then it's great.

Speaker 3 And I trust that he will. I trust that he will.

Speaker 3 I think he's shown that he can do that. So

Speaker 3 if

Speaker 3 Flo and Pepe are our top two strikers going into the World Cup, I think I feel really good about that from our standpoint.

Speaker 2 All right, reminder, this comes out on Tuesday.

Speaker 2 We will also then be watching the U.S. game against Uruguay, and we will live stream right after the game, right around 9.15 Eastern Time.

Speaker 2 So you can find it on our YouTube page, our Twitter page, I refuse to say X, or our Facebook homepages. So just a reminder there.

Speaker 2 All right, it's stoppage time, sponsored by FanDuel. New customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win.
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Speaker 2 All right, we're not out of the international window quite yet, but we're starting to think ahead to the conference semis and MLS's postseason. So Vancouver LAFC, I love, love, love this game.

Speaker 2 So much to play for. In Vancouver, they've already sold, I think, 58 or 60,000 tickets.
They're going to sell out.

Speaker 2 LAFC coming up there, Buonga and Sun, I think, are the two best teammate dynamic duo in the game right now in Major League Soccer, and they are electric to watch.

Speaker 2 I think in the end, Vancouver finds a way to win. I do.
I do think Buonga scores.

Speaker 2 I wouldn't be surprised if Sun scores as well. And I think Tomas Muller scores.
I know I'm going with the stars there, but I think they're going to score. And I think Vancouver pulls off the win.

Speaker 2 Should they win? I think San Diego probably wins the other side. It would be a great matchup, Vancouver, San Diego.
I think San Diego is slightly favored in that matchup because it'll be at home.

Speaker 2 But Vancouver, don't sleep on them. Very, very good team.

Speaker 2 Next matchup, Cincy, Miami. Oh, this is so good.
In Cincinnati, Leonel Messi and his band traveling up to Cincy for this one. This is make or break for Miami.

Speaker 2 They put all their eggs in the playoff basket. They had a lot of games this season.
They kind of pushed the league standings to the side a little bit and said, we don't care if we go on the road.

Speaker 2 We're not going to try to win every game and get home field advantage. So they've got to travel to Cincy.

Speaker 2 I think they pull it off.

Speaker 2 I would be dumb not to say that Messi is going to score. And I think Miami find a way to win, but it is going to be a fantastic game.
I think Philly wins on the other side.

Speaker 2 So Philly, Miami, two very good teams. I think Philly overall is a better team, but Miami just has too much star power.
And I think Messi gets them through there too.

Speaker 2 Unfiltered Soccer's same-game parlay this week as for Cincy versus Miami and Vancouver versus LAFC.

Speaker 2 I've got Vancouver to win with Tomas Muller scoring on Saturday and Miami to win and Messi to score on Sunday plus 982 on the four-leg same game parlay for this week.

Speaker 2 Don't forget to check out the full same-game parlay on our socials later this week.

Speaker 3 LD, we've got an incredible, incredible guest today. Yes.

Speaker 3 Everybody, everybody in this country that listens to this show is going to be extremely excited for this guest. He's currently the head coach of Red Bull II.

Speaker 3 You're going to talk about why that is amazing.

Speaker 3 He won the MLS Cup, the Supporter Shield, in 2017 with Toronto FC. He played for the famous, amongst many other teams as roma in italy uh was named u.s soccer men's player of the year in 2015.

Speaker 3 listen here this man has 151 caps for the u.s men's national team between 2006 and 2019 famously played in the 2010 and 2014 world cups he is a dear friend of ours a friend of the show uh and one of the greatest hands down greatest teammates uh either of us have ever had.

Speaker 3 The one and only Michael Bradley.

Speaker 2 Welcome to the show. Welcome, Mikey.

Speaker 1 Thanks for having me, guys. What an introduction.

Speaker 1 The pressure deserved.

Speaker 2 And he left out the current 2025 MLS Next Pro Champion, Mike Bradley.

Speaker 1 Well done.

Speaker 1 Well done.

Speaker 3 The success follows.

Speaker 2 Let's dig right in, Mike. So, first of all, congrats.

Speaker 2 You came mid-year, right, in June?

Speaker 1 June. Yeah.

Speaker 3 So we all

Speaker 2 knew at some point you were going to go down the coaching path just because of your lineage,

Speaker 2 the way you captained, the way you spoke. When did you

Speaker 2 really, be honest, officially know that that was what you wanted to do? Because I think it was at like six years old, but I want to know from you.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I mean.

Speaker 1 Subconsciously, it was probably in and around

Speaker 1 watching your dad at six-year-old age.

Speaker 1 In reality,

Speaker 1 I don't know, man. Like, like all of us, I was for a long time probably in denial that there was ever going to have to be life after playing.

Speaker 1 Um, and I, I, I loved playing more than anything in the whole world. I, I, I loved every part of it.
And so for a really long time,

Speaker 1 life after playing, just I didn't even, you didn't even want to think about it.

Speaker 1 Um, and then obviously you get, as you're getting older, then you, you, you start to think about it all a little bit more seriously. Start to think about what's next,

Speaker 1 you know, what, what you, how you envision your life. And for me,

Speaker 1 I love the game.

Speaker 1 I love

Speaker 1 being on a team. I love coming into a training ground every day.

Speaker 1 I love the part of trying to do something special with a group of people.

Speaker 1 Yeah, then at some point there, it was real obvious that

Speaker 1 I wanted to coach. And the other interesting thing for me then is

Speaker 1 as I got to the end of my career,

Speaker 1 I felt in a lot of ways the impact that I had on my teammates or on young players.

Speaker 1 I could almost feel that the impact that I had in terms of trying to help them, lead them,

Speaker 1 mentor them in some ways, that part was, the impact there was greater than pure impact on the field. And so that was then what really started to excite me about, you know,

Speaker 1 putting the end to the playing and moving into the coaching.

Speaker 2 And then were you getting your coaching licenses, badges, all that along the way? A lot of players do that as they're playing, or did you wait till you were done?

Speaker 1 I waited a while. I did, my last year of playing, I picked up an injury after in like April or May.
And it actually, the timing worked where I was able to do my UEFA B license in Wales.

Speaker 1 The FAW was putting on a residential B license for current and ex-players. And so the timing worked perfect where I was able to go

Speaker 1 do the week residential. Obviously, then for the rest of that year, there was some distance work and assignments and sessions and things to do.

Speaker 1 But I was able to get the B license done the last year I was playing.

Speaker 1 And then I began the A license when I started as an assistant coach. So that part, the timing of that all worked

Speaker 1 pretty well. Yeah.

Speaker 3 Well, we go ahead, Leonard.

Speaker 2 No, I'm curious because we know you as Michael the player and

Speaker 2 ultimate professional, intense,

Speaker 2 competitive, great leader.

Speaker 2 What type of coach are you? Are you that intent? You know, your dad was always very intense with us too, but had a soft side. And as you got to know him better, so what kind of of coach are you?

Speaker 2 How do you describe yourself as a coach? And I'm sure it's still evolving, right? You're still learning.

Speaker 2 Sure.

Speaker 1 I hope it.

Speaker 1 I think you always have to evolve, right? And so, you know, the person or the coach that you

Speaker 1 start out as,

Speaker 1 that will,

Speaker 1 you'll grow and develop. And you'll also always try to give whatever team that you have what they need in any given moment.

Speaker 1 And so I think that part, that's also the beauty of coaching is how do you um how do you adapt to to your players how do you adapt to the team the environment and so i think that part

Speaker 1 um that part's important who am i um yeah as you said you guys you guys know me um

Speaker 1 I love the game.

Speaker 1 I'm competitive as can be.

Speaker 1 I want to create an environment every single day where everybody, a part of it, feels

Speaker 1 like they are doing something worthwhile and special and

Speaker 1 that we are all in something together.

Speaker 1 The part of, and this is one of the really exciting things for me at Red Bull right now, but the part of trying to combine

Speaker 1 football and football ideas and

Speaker 1 football that is exciting and fun to watch and football that

Speaker 1 produces goals and

Speaker 1 good players and

Speaker 1 football that people want to watch.

Speaker 1 How do you combine that with intensity and competitiveness and being really hard to play against and putting the game on your teams when you don't have the ball and pressing?

Speaker 1 That is,

Speaker 1 and again, I'm sure we'll get into it, but like when you think about Red Bull right now and the ideas that Jürgen Klopp has brought into

Speaker 1 the organization, like that part is

Speaker 1 that part is is really really exciting and so you're every single day you're trying to to put this blend together of of

Speaker 1 of football of intensity of

Speaker 1 competitiveness of spirit of mentality and and you want you want it all and so how you how you then go about that every day the environment you create the way that you challenge the players, engage the players, the way you,

Speaker 1 in moments are, are,

Speaker 1 you you know challenging and demanding in other moments the way you're positive encouraging and and and put your arms around them and so it's uh

Speaker 3 it's it's it's not an exact science you guys know that trying every single every single day to chip away at it yeah oh listen and and landon bob does have a soft side but i'm still shit scared of him to this day and i'm 46 years old so i i'm not so i i don't i don't every time he texts me i'm like oh god what's he gonna get nervous you get nervous every time bob texts it's amazing um but you you know Michael, it's interesting because

Speaker 3 we go all the way back. I mean, the 2006 World Cup camp, pre-World Cup camp, when you were in the camp with Bruce Arena, was the manager, we think it was in Kerry, North Carolina or something.

Speaker 3 And I feel like you then played for your dad. You're now following in his footsteps.
You can never get too far away from this. You're like a glutton for punishment.
But

Speaker 3 what I always admired about you, and this isn't necessarily a question, I'll get to that, was I was a senior player and I was obviously older, but I never felt I would protect you to the ends of the earth, but I never felt I had to protect you.

Speaker 3 You did such an incredible job of like playing for your dad when you're younger. Then your dad gets let go from U.S.

Speaker 3 soccer, not you not holding grudges and being able to accept a leadership role with another manager. I mean,

Speaker 3 it's really incredible how that kind of that transition. and watching you become a leader.
Like that's the greatest compliment I can pay you.

Speaker 3 Like I was willing to protect any of you guys, particularly my dear friends, but I never felt that I had to because you were able to do that on your own. From the coaching standpoint, like

Speaker 3 you,

Speaker 3 you, you go, you've always gone about the game the right way, right? And we can argue what the right way is. And, but I hear from so many coaches now that they're like, Tim, these kids are different.

Speaker 3 They're different, Tim. You got to coach them different.
You got to be a little bit lighter. You got to take some of the emotion out of the game.

Speaker 3 So like, I hear that from a lot of people, like big coaches. And so I'm just kind of curious.

Speaker 3 You, you, you had success a certain way, right? You were adaptable, played for a lot of coaches, but you had a certain way of having success. I would imagine you want to implement so much of that.

Speaker 3 At the same time, is this new generation just different? Do they have to be coached in a different way? And I'm not saying coddled, but just coach in a different way

Speaker 1 to some degree. Yeah.

Speaker 1 I would absolutely agree with that.

Speaker 1 But I also

Speaker 1 like

Speaker 1 there is

Speaker 1 value in the old school. 100%.
There's value in

Speaker 1 being real and value in high standards. And there's value in looking somebody in the eye in the right way in the right moment and telling them exactly how it is.
And

Speaker 1 now, does that have to be balanced with,

Speaker 1 you know, making sure that they know how much you care about them, how much you want them to improve?

Speaker 1 Does that need to be balanced with,

Speaker 1 you know, positive reinforcement and encouragement? It does.

Speaker 1 But

Speaker 1 we've all been on

Speaker 1 really, really good teams.

Speaker 1 We were a part of a really good team and a really special team altogether. And

Speaker 1 that really special team was not built on the idea that every single person, every single one of us just told the other only what they wanted to hear.

Speaker 1 Like there was still the part of how do you,

Speaker 1 how do you hold yourself first, but others to real standards? And how do you,

Speaker 1 you know, how do you have real discussion? And how do you challenge guys? And like ultimately, that is,

Speaker 1 that's what being on a team is. That's what makes it special.
And when you can,

Speaker 1 that takes work. It takes, it takes time so that people,

Speaker 1 you know, take that the right way. It takes time so that now there can be real value

Speaker 1 coming from that. But I think, you know, when you talk about an environment, when you talk about

Speaker 1 how to improve the work every day, like, yeah, there has to be,

Speaker 1 there has to be, it has to be based on

Speaker 1 honesty and truth and the part that now everybody is,

Speaker 1 everybody's trying to get better, you know?

Speaker 1 And again, it has to, it has to be done in a way that people feel good about, you know, people, you want everybody to walk into a training facility or walk into a stadium every single day, feeling good about what is going on, feeling excited.

Speaker 1 It doesn't mean that everything's going to go your way every single day, but still, the general part of

Speaker 1 creating an environment, creating an atmosphere, that part is,

Speaker 1 that part is so important. And so, yeah, the

Speaker 1 new generation,

Speaker 1 sure, it's look the world is different right i mean players now in a lot of cases they were parented differently they were taught differently and they have been coached differently than any of us ever were and so we'd be we'd be we'd be dumb and naive to think that didn't exist or that we we can just do all of the same things um and so yeah how do you how do you combine a little bit of the old school with the new school to help everyone

Speaker 2 even our national team players, listen to that comment and young players listen to that full comment because I think you're absolutely right. And

Speaker 2 the way I view it, Michael, and this gets frustrating, and this is not, this is just me on my soapbox for a sec, is I was watching a Premier League game a few weeks ago, and I don't even remember the game.

Speaker 2 I don't remember who. Team was losing 2-0 in like the 86th minute.

Speaker 2 And the losing team, player scored and ran to the end line in front of the camera, posing, celebrating. And I'm thinking to myself, what the f are you doing? You're losing 2-1 now in the 87.

Speaker 2 Get the ball and get back to midfield.

Speaker 2 And it really hit me as like, that is a big part of this generation, right?

Speaker 2 And, you know, you don't have to comment on it, but it is, it is because of social media, because of how they are parented, it is way more individual.

Speaker 3 And our goal always was to win the game, right?

Speaker 2 I remember my first ever World Cup goal. We're losing 3-0 to Poland.
And I score and I want to celebrate in the moment. And then like, the real part of me takes over.
And I go, No, get back.

Speaker 2 Like, we need to score. So, anyway, I am, I'll, I'll, I'll get off that.
But let's talk, Mikey, a little bit about

Speaker 2 your playing career because I think people want to hear a lot about this, and I do too. My first question for you is: So, you wore the captain's armband.
Andrew did research.

Speaker 2 I didn't know this, third most ever in men's national team history. Do you know who number one and two are?

Speaker 1 Um, Carlos Bocanegra is,

Speaker 1 I believe,

Speaker 1 is he one he's one

Speaker 1 and i have two wrong i think i think claudio's two i had

Speaker 1 claudio is four this is an interesting one yeah it's a goalkeeper right tim yep not tim no definitely never give him the armband ever so you're you're a jersey guy mikey tony yeah isn't that wild and then you do you know how many times you wore the armband

Speaker 1 me yeah um

Speaker 1 40-ish 48 yeah it's really really impressive.

Speaker 3 Amazing. Really impressive.

Speaker 2 All right. We could do this all day.
And Michael, please stay right there. We want to keep talking to you.
We will continue this conversation. Lots more questions.
A lot more stories.

Speaker 2 Here with Michael Bradley on Unfiltered Soccer with Lannon and Tim, brought to you by Volkswagen.

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Speaker 3 Welcome back to Unfiltered Soccer. We're here with Michael Bradley.
Let's dive right back in, Mike.

Speaker 2 Okay, so the World Cup's coming here to our soil next year. We've talked about this a lot on the podcast.

Speaker 2 Can you even envision what it would be like to play a World Cup in America and what that would be like?

Speaker 1 No, not really. Especially when you think about the way the game has grown in our country, the profile of

Speaker 1 the way the game has grown, the way the profile of our national team has grown,

Speaker 1 the profiles of the individual players. Like it is the opportunity and the potential that exists for

Speaker 1 for our team, for our players next summer is

Speaker 1 it's it's

Speaker 1 I don't think any of us can even imagine it right now. You know, if

Speaker 1 they can play and compete in a way where, where anybody who's watching next summer is, is just captivated and falls in love with the team. And if they can

Speaker 1 win some games and go on a real run,

Speaker 1 I don't think we've ever seen anything like it. Yeah.

Speaker 3 Where's your temperature on?

Speaker 3 You've played in World Cups. You've captained the U.S.
national team. You're now a coach.

Speaker 3 Yes, I agree with you on all those things.

Speaker 3 That would be amazing.

Speaker 3 But here we are, however many eight months out. What's the temperature of this team for you?

Speaker 3 We know what their ceiling is, but what's the reality right now?

Speaker 1 The reality is it's, I mean, look, it's not been.

Speaker 1 It's been choppy.

Speaker 1 It's been choppy

Speaker 1 since the end of the last World Cup. It has been,

Speaker 1 it's not been what any of us or probably any of

Speaker 1 them

Speaker 1 would have wanted.

Speaker 1 Obviously, now Pochettino comes in and he is having to quickly try to figure out who

Speaker 1 are the best players, who needs to be there, which of those best players play the best with each other.

Speaker 1 What's our best way of playing?

Speaker 1 There's also a part where he's trying to figure out and understand

Speaker 1 the

Speaker 1 football culture that exists in our country inside the team.

Speaker 1 Yeah,

Speaker 1 there's a lot, a lot for him to try to

Speaker 1 get his arms around in a really short amount of time.

Speaker 1 Obviously, as a result, then,

Speaker 2 you know,

Speaker 1 results, individual performances, yeah, have been have been up and down.

Speaker 1 The only thing for me is,

Speaker 1 and I, I said this, you know, I said this when a few weeks ago, um, these, they were around here training before the, before the friendly against South Korea.

Speaker 1 And I,

Speaker 1 I saw, I saw Christian after training the one day. I spent a little bit of time with Tyler, um, and I, I said a version of this to, to both of them.

Speaker 3 It's amazing.

Speaker 1 Did not know this, which is just like

Speaker 1 at the end of the day, um, in May of 2026, Pochatino is going to choose a team. And

Speaker 1 whether it's 23 or 26 or whatever FIFA decides in terms of the size of the squad, they're going to get a few weeks to prepare for a World Cup. And

Speaker 1 like we did at Princeton or like we did

Speaker 1 at Stanford, wherever, you know, wherever they go, they're going to get a few weeks to prepare. And then,

Speaker 1 like we know at World Cups, the world's going to stop and

Speaker 1 in an even more dramatic way next summer because of the part of it being played in in our school. And the whistle is going to blow.
The whistle is going to blow three different times.

Speaker 1 They're going to get 90 minutes. And

Speaker 1 in reality, the only thing that they are going to be judged on, the only thing that anyone is ever going to remember is how they play in those games.

Speaker 1 Nobody's going to remember a Copa America two summers ago. Nobody's going to remember whether Christian came to this camp or played in that game or whether Tyler was here.

Speaker 1 Like, nobody's going to remember that.

Speaker 1 In the end, get yourselves ready for the idea that you guys are going to get an opportunity that

Speaker 1 a million people, tens of millions of people, would dream of. The three of us would dream, would kill for it.
You get to play a World Cup at home, and you get three times 90 minutes to

Speaker 1 like

Speaker 1 just go for it, guys. Like,

Speaker 1 pour your heart and soul onto the field, play, compete, run

Speaker 1 uh score goals like do everything you can so that now

Speaker 1 when we're watching and anybody who's watching that we're we're we fall in love with you guys and fall in love with the team and if if you can do that the results will come and in the end like

Speaker 1 that is all anybody will care about and will remember great well and were they receptive to that do you think yeah i and and look they're they're

Speaker 1 they're smart guys, right? They, they, they know how it goes. Um, and so, yeah, look, I, I, I think they're

Speaker 1 when push comes to shove, I truly believe that, that, that we'll be ready.

Speaker 3 Are you

Speaker 2 I can't imagine you're someone who would discount the value of them being together a lot over the next so the challenge right now, Nicole.

Speaker 1 I mean, quickly, I mean, that was, that was why our group was so special, right?

Speaker 1 Was because we had the, we had the years and the experiences and the games and the trips and the camps that just built up.

Speaker 1 And so then when, when was, all was said and done and we got our chance, like we,

Speaker 1 we were

Speaker 1 like, we were ready to die for each other. And you don't just snap your fingers and get that.

Speaker 2 Yeah. So I guess the

Speaker 2 there's part of this whole, and I'm curious your take on it now because you played, but also as a coach, if you're Pochatino and now, you know, Tim keeps saying this, and I, and I keep in my mind, I keep thinking, no, that's not going to happen, Tim.

Speaker 2 And he's been right the whole way. This full group of players

Speaker 2 will likely never be together until that May camp. I'm talking the full group, Michael, like everybody who you want in.
And there's various reasons, and there's a lot of nuance.

Speaker 2 And then there's also the injury piece, right? For these guys, and I want to pick your brain on that too. So are they able to flip a switch in May?

Speaker 2 If it's the first time those 23 have been together and the first time, probably that the 11 who play in their friendly in Atlanta or whatever it is before the World Cup play together, do you believe?

Speaker 2 And I'm not leading you, I actually just curious. Do you believe they can flip the switch and do it?

Speaker 1 Do I believe they can? Yes.

Speaker 1 Is it ideal?

Speaker 1 Again, absolutely not. So

Speaker 1 I will never discount the part of

Speaker 1 the work and the process and

Speaker 1 the sheer part of like living

Speaker 1 hard moments together. I mean, look,

Speaker 1 when we got to the World Cup

Speaker 1 in 2010, I mean, think of all the

Speaker 1 Think of all that we had been through.

Speaker 1 I mean, think back a year before the Confederations Cup,

Speaker 1 where we play Italy in the first game, you know, play like,

Speaker 1 what does it end up being 30 minutes down a guy, play pretty well, but then lose to a good Italian team in the second game against Brazil,

Speaker 1 start okay, and then end up playing like 60 minutes down a guy, I believe.

Speaker 3 Yep.

Speaker 1 You know, so after two games, zero points,

Speaker 1 you know, at that time,

Speaker 1 a lot of people on the outside,

Speaker 1 yeah, not not

Speaker 1 uh complimentary of us or the team or the way that we were playing. Um, and I can remember those days before the third game against against Egypt and you know, some of the conversations.

Speaker 1 And now we get ourselves, you know, ready and even with a glimmer of hope, then go on the field against Egypt, play, find a way to get through, um, play against a really good Spain team.

Speaker 1 Like, so the experience of,

Speaker 1 remember that hotel that we stayed in in Pratolian, South africa yeah

Speaker 1 cup like it was

Speaker 1 it wasn't the best you know it wasn't the ritz carlton they're staying in it sure wasn't and i can remember like you know sitting at the sitting down at the in the meal room after like

Speaker 1 having real conversations about like come on i know it's the end of a long season but like this is still

Speaker 1 even going into that the third game against egypt like yeah it may not uh get us what we want right now but we've still got to be able to use this so that next summer we're ready, you know, and so like this, the work of building a team, the work of building relationships on the field, off the field.

Speaker 1 There's anybody who tries to,

Speaker 1 you know,

Speaker 1 minimize that or act like that's not important. No, I don't agree with that.
So in a perfect world,

Speaker 1 this group would have been

Speaker 1 living that for the for consistently for this last stretch.

Speaker 1 They've had moments, but but it hasn't been as consistent as as anybody would probably like. But

Speaker 1 I do think

Speaker 1 ultimately the the the excitement and the motivation of playing a home World Cup and combined then with the quality of the players that we do have,

Speaker 1 I'm still hopeful for sure.

Speaker 3 One of the conversations, Mikey, that's in vogue right now is club versus country. And you have a, you have a unique perspective, right? Because there's always a debate about club versus country.

Speaker 3 But you, like, I have one perspective on it because I have the English perspective, right? You have the German, the Italian, the English,

Speaker 3 Dutch.

Speaker 3 You have a lot of different perspectives and you live that. You were a guy who never didn't come into camp.
Sure, I'm sure your clubs didn't want you to, right, at times.

Speaker 3 Give our listeners,

Speaker 3 we've touched on this at nauseum, but like, how have you experienced that and how do you see that?

Speaker 1 I mean,

Speaker 1 personally, and

Speaker 1 again, you guys, you guys were, you guys know me. Like, I wanted to play every game.

Speaker 1 I wanted to play every game, no matter which country it was in, no matter what continent it was on, no matter who it was for. Like I

Speaker 1 wanted to play every game in certain moments, probably to my detriment,

Speaker 1 because there were moments where, you know, I didn't feel, I didn't feel great or I probably, you know.

Speaker 1 I was pushing to play

Speaker 1 and ended up on certain days probably being on the field and not being at my best. And probably then, that you know, that that hurt me on some other days.

Speaker 1 And so that was just how I was, how I was billed, how I was wired.

Speaker 1 Yeah, look, it's a tough one. Um,

Speaker 1 I'm, I'm still traditional. I, I think, playing for there's nothing better in the world than playing for your national team.
Um, um, you know,

Speaker 1 standing on the field before

Speaker 1 a game and hearing your national anthem. Um, that is,

Speaker 1 there's nothing better.

Speaker 1 I grew up watching the U.S. national team play.
I grew up watching

Speaker 1 you guys play for

Speaker 1 the national team. And it was like

Speaker 1 if I could have,

Speaker 1 if somebody had promised me... 10 minutes on the field for the national team when I was 12 years old, I would have,

Speaker 1 I would have, I'd have killed for it. And so as I got older and then I got,

Speaker 1 you know, those opportunities, I, I wasn't ready to,

Speaker 1 I wasn't ready to pass.

Speaker 1 But, you know, it's,

Speaker 1 yeah, it's interesting.

Speaker 3 So

Speaker 2 we appreciate your time. This is going fast, unfortunately.

Speaker 2 We know you have a real job. I have a few just sort of lighter questions, just curious, some thoughts on, so what's your favorite goal you ever scored? I know my favorite for you.

Speaker 3 Well, no, my favorite is the one in Mexico. But anyway, we'll go to the midfield one.

Speaker 2 Let me speak. Jesus.

Speaker 1 Go, go, go, go. My favorite? Yeah.

Speaker 1 U.S. Slovenia.
Let's go.

Speaker 1 Let's go.

Speaker 1 Go ahead. I can still, I can still like see the ball hitting the back.

Speaker 2 You know what, Michael, I want to, let me stop you because there was a goal Christian scored.

Speaker 1 I don't remember.

Speaker 2 It was, I don't know, a year or two ago, where someone hits a long ball over the, like clips a ball over the top of the the back line, and he takes it on a half volley with his left foot and puts it inside the post.

Speaker 2 And I was like, degree of difficulty-wise, people have no idea. And, you know, people don't really understand.

Speaker 3 Whatever, it was an easy goal.

Speaker 2 I'm like, you have no clue. Your ability in this goal.
So if you haven't watched, go watch it. YouTube it.

Speaker 2 The ball gets played to Josie. Josie jumps and knocks it down.
Your timing is perfect as you're running off of Josie. And the ball bounces.

Speaker 2 And like, Tim, I appreciate that you won't appreciate this the same way as

Speaker 2 someone who kicks the ball, but it bounces and you hit it with your toe, but like with top spin, right? Am I describing that right? I mean,

Speaker 1 I almost, it was like the sole of my foot where I live. Almost, yeah.

Speaker 2 I mean, it's the degree of difficulty, and it's not a play that a player ever practices. You can't practice shooting the ball that way, it doesn't happen.

Speaker 1 Right.

Speaker 2 And so just your instinct to take over and it bounces and it's on a half bounce. And the degree of difficulty is insane.
And it loops over the goalkeeper into the net.

Speaker 2 And for me, I mean, the Mexico goal was phenomenal, but a lot of players can score that goal. It's not easy, but a lot of, but the goal you scored against Slovenia, I just remember

Speaker 3 with the fist pumping.

Speaker 3 And then, Mo, Mo, Mo Adu, you listening? Why are you holding on that play?

Speaker 1 I'm always teasing.

Speaker 1 Third goal.

Speaker 3 Please. Yeah.
By the way, we're going to on Unfiltered Soccer, we're going to get a still image of the photo. We're gonna put it on our social.
The referee, the crazy referee, he was on the take.

Speaker 3 She was on the take. It must have been on a bunk.
Calls a foul on us. And literally, there's like 15 people in the box just grabbing each other's shirt behind the scenes.

Speaker 1 Oh, go ahead.

Speaker 3 No, I was gonna, I was gonna

Speaker 3 chuck one in. So

Speaker 3 again, this is all very lighthearted. And Landon and I have this debate because he and I see the Algeria goal completely different.

Speaker 3 I kept this in the game. We were up against it.

Speaker 3 When I got the ball, and this is all there. There's receipts.
People can see this.

Speaker 3 I finally get the ball and there's a break and I see it. Not many people see it.
And Landon at the end taps it in. And he thinks that it's different.
How do you remember that game?

Speaker 3 Because it was freaking wild.

Speaker 1 Algeria? Yeah. Algeria was, Algeria was, was surreal.

Speaker 1 Crazy.

Speaker 1 It was an early kickoff, you guys remember.

Speaker 1 It might have been

Speaker 1 one o'clock local time in South Africa. And so, and I, and you guys, you'll remember this.
Remember, we had been on,

Speaker 1 we had been on like a later schedule in South Africa because

Speaker 1 we were staying at that at that lodge, remember?

Speaker 1 Irene.

Speaker 1 Irene, we were training in the afternoons. And so we were- We weren't going to bed.

Speaker 3 We weren't going to bed until like 2-3.

Speaker 1 We were staying up late and watching games. And remember, there was like the

Speaker 1 spa with like the cold pool.

Speaker 1 And we were hanging out in the training room late, which meant we were sleeping late and then like, you know, late to breakfast.

Speaker 1 And so, anyway, we get to Algeria, and that's like a one o'clock kickoff. And it was like, literally, like, I remember waking up, and Kazan's like, still snoring in the bed next to me.

Speaker 1 And, like, literally, it was like,

Speaker 1 like, it's time to go. Yeah, time to go.
Like, literally, it was like, wake up, go eat, shower. And like, we were, we were off.

Speaker 1 And I can remember on the way to the stadium, like, this, like,

Speaker 1 having this feeling like

Speaker 1 essentially like

Speaker 1 four years of

Speaker 1 work is

Speaker 1 going to culminate right now. And

Speaker 1 it's almost like four years of work is either going to be deemed

Speaker 1 amazing or terrible based on 90 minutes. Yeah.

Speaker 1 And obviously there in some of these moments, you know, I don't, I don't talk about this a ton.

Speaker 1 In some of these moments when your dad is the coach, that gets like that gets amplified.

Speaker 1 because there's a part for all of us where it's just like our success and how we are viewed and how our team is viewed. But then it's also like, yeah, my dad.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 I mean, and so I can remember that.

Speaker 1 And yeah, I mean, the game, like we, we, we pushed the game from the beginning. And, and, you know, I can remember Hercules and Clint having good chances.

Speaker 1 And I can remember, you know, like being on top of them, but just not being able to get the goal. And then,

Speaker 1 yeah,

Speaker 1 I've I've seen it a million times since, and I hopefully I'll get to see it a million more times.

Speaker 3 You see it my way. I appreciate that.

Speaker 2 Well, he doesn't see the throw, but

Speaker 1 you know what I see when I see that goal is like

Speaker 1 our team,

Speaker 1 we had gotten really good at this idea

Speaker 1 of

Speaker 1 playing on the edge. When we went down in games,

Speaker 1 because we had had the experience of it we knew how to play from behind okay we weren't behind that day it was zero zero but we needed to score

Speaker 1 and we we had gotten really good at how to push and how to play on the edge and how like we we were comfortable in a game that opened up a little bit you know and and

Speaker 1 that part that part is not every team has that and so you know when when we were still pushing at the end which means that then there's some some fires that we have to put out defensively.

Speaker 1 And now we're dealing with this play in the box. And you get the ball, Timmy, and like you're not thinking twice.
And you're already looking up and you're

Speaker 1 throwing it out to somebody, you know, somebody on the move. And now we're moving forward.
Like that is like, that's a quality. That is a quality in a team to be able to play in games like that.

Speaker 1 And so that is how that all comes together, especially in big moments. That is, that's, that's special.

Speaker 2 And it goes back to Michael. It goes back to us being together and having the experiences together, right? And that's, that's the value in that is that there wasn't panic.

Speaker 2 We were urgent, but we weren't panicking, but we had been in those moments. And when you go through those fires, the next time it happens, you're okay.
Like we had just gone through it with Slovenia.

Speaker 2 We're down two, nothing at half.

Speaker 3 And we're looking around like our World Cup's about to be over.

Speaker 1 Like we're going home.

Speaker 3 So we better do something about it.

Speaker 2 So we had, we had been a part of that. And yeah, that's, it's awesome to hear you speak about that.
Last couple, Mike. So

Speaker 2 what year? I mean, it's hard not to say 10, but what year

Speaker 2 and what team was the best national team you were a part of?

Speaker 3 Um, yeah, I mean, I'll say well, you have 09, you have you have Confederations Cup 09, you have 2010.

Speaker 1 We choose one year, huh?

Speaker 2 You also have the 14 World Cup and

Speaker 2 the 2014 World Cup, or the years leading up to that, yeah.

Speaker 3 No, no, those are the three best for sure.

Speaker 1 Oh,

Speaker 1 I guess I thought I thought you were going to give me the easy way out to choose like an era. Nope.

Speaker 1 I'll go 2009.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I agree with that.

Speaker 1 I

Speaker 1 the balance that we had found in that team in terms of

Speaker 1 you and Clint playing, you know, as the,

Speaker 1 you know,

Speaker 1 my, my dad and I joke all the time, like, you know, at the time we called it 4-4-2.

Speaker 1 Now, like, the way football has evolved, like, it was 4-2-2-2, right?

Speaker 1 And it's a it's a catchier way to say it, but you and you and Clint played as those

Speaker 1 as those wide or inside tens. Um, Josie and and Charlie had found a really good partnership up there.
Um,

Speaker 1 their way of

Speaker 1 really

Speaker 1 playing with each other, playing off of each other, um,

Speaker 1 the combination of their, of their football, but also their speed and their power. Like they were such a handful.

Speaker 1 So I think, you know, in in in that period in 2009, we, I mean, I actually,

Speaker 1 I was, I was

Speaker 1 helping my dad put something together. I think he actually sent it to you guys, but

Speaker 1 we, we, we got like some really

Speaker 1 good,

Speaker 1 high-resolution versions of those games that year. And like,

Speaker 1 We played really well against

Speaker 1 like it it wasn't like a game where we were just like defending on top of our box and we were just

Speaker 1 suffering for 90 minutes. Like we

Speaker 1 played and we went after them. And

Speaker 1 so that was that was a good team.

Speaker 2 And for people who don't know, sorry, for people who don't know, that Spanish team had gone 35 or 36 games unbeaten. We were the first team to beat them in 36 games.

Speaker 3 But let me, let me, let me, for, for all of, and you're right, that 2009 team specifically. But as we, Landon and I can continue to discuss, which is what you guys want to hear, the U.S.

Speaker 3 men's national team and different eras and that type of thing, what Michael is talking about, right, is a culmination and a lead up and a buildup to 2010. Let me give you this.

Speaker 3 2007, Bob Bradley gets the head coaching job, right? We win the Gold Cup in a battle. And not always the same players, but a lot of the same players in a battle in Chicago against Mexico.

Speaker 3 We win the 2007 Gold Cup.

Speaker 1 Down one zero to myself.

Speaker 2 Down one zero.

Speaker 3 That's right.

Speaker 3 We go through the gauntlet of World Cup qualifying in 2008 and then 2009 right we then because we won the gold cup in 2007 we go to to the confederations cup in 2009 tough ass tournament same players we then

Speaker 3 go into the world cup so there's a four-year period where there's constant battles every game means something gold cup world cup qualifying confederations cup And I'll add one thing because, and obviously our guys in U.S.

Speaker 1 soccer have no control over this now because of nation.

Speaker 1 But with the calendar and everything, of the number, think of the number of really, really good friendly games that people play

Speaker 1 away from home

Speaker 1 on European soil. Well, that's what your dad did.

Speaker 3 Your dad basically said, we're going to get pack your bags. We're going away from home as much as we can.
So, yeah,

Speaker 3 that was a huge, huge thing. Yeah.

Speaker 3 Quick question.

Speaker 3 And this is obviously will play well on our socials. I'm curious.
One, as a coach,

Speaker 3 do you put the boots on and do you train with the team? Or do you do bits and bombs like five and two boxes and stuff?

Speaker 1 Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Speaker 1 People ask me all the time still, like, oh, do you miss playing?

Speaker 1 The honest answer is no. I do not miss playing at all.
I

Speaker 1 agree.

Speaker 1 I love coaching more than, I love coaching right now more than I loved playing at the end.

Speaker 1 Like, it's not even close.

Speaker 1 And it's, it's awesome because on certain days, if I wake up and I feel really good or if like it's that perfect training day where it's like gray and misty and the feel,

Speaker 1 like i literally we we make a session where we need a neutral player and i'm the new

Speaker 2 used to do that too at loyal

Speaker 3 i love that i love that and then and and then the other the other really hard-hitting question is managers don't wear suits anymore but you're a young manager are you going to be a track suit man when you when you get to where you want to be you're going to be a track suit manager you're going to be like a smart casual manager my my wife and daughter ask me this like every day

Speaker 1 amanda and quinn literally like

Speaker 1 they'll be like on the computer and, like, I have no idea what she's doing. And then she's like, she's got like pictures of like

Speaker 1 Javi Alonzo and Nagglesman. And then, like, and she goes, like, like, Daddy, like, what's your coaching style going to be? Yo, me and Quinn, me and Quinn are like this.
We know.

Speaker 1 Um, it's a good question. I think, in all seriousness, it's probably

Speaker 1 you always have to have an idea of the club that you're coaching at

Speaker 1 tradition or or kind of

Speaker 1 any type of

Speaker 1 precedent that's been set in that way. But

Speaker 1 generally speaking, I think I'll be at least a start more of the smart casual guy and

Speaker 1 try to go from there.

Speaker 3 You know what's really funny? Landon and I played for David Mollies and he was so calculated, Mikey, that like there would be days where he'd have his suit on, right?

Speaker 1 And you're like, all right, cool.

Speaker 3 And then there were other games where he'd come out in his track suit and he's beat up Copa Mundials and we're like, oh, it's one of those days. Oh, okay.

Speaker 2 It's like Shrewsbury away. And then

Speaker 1 we're going to muck it up today.

Speaker 1 Totally.

Speaker 2 All right, Mike. Last two questions, and thanks for being gracious with your time.

Speaker 2 I've asked Tim this, but when are you going to come to the light side and get a nice hair piece like me?

Speaker 3 What do you think about that?

Speaker 2 Can we convince you?

Speaker 1 You look really good, man. I appreciate that.
I'm happy like this. You are.

Speaker 2 When was the moment you knew?

Speaker 1 Bold is beautiful, bro.

Speaker 1 Yeah, tell us that story.

Speaker 1 I was like younger than I should have been.

Speaker 1 I was probably like 21 years old and I was playing in Germany at Glaudbach and this was before like the era of like all where every team or every video session was with the tactical wide angle view.

Speaker 2 Right above even like wide angle. Yeah.

Speaker 1 I remember for a certain game the coach at the time sent one of our analysts or assistant coaches up high and he was recording the game and now the following week we're watching the footage and it had been

Speaker 1 it was raining that day. And I had my like longer, moppy hair.
And

Speaker 1 we're watching the video. And I'm like, it took me like 20 minutes.
I'm thinking to myself, like, who's who's that bald midfielder? That

Speaker 1 from my pie, you can see like just the bit

Speaker 1 at a certain point. I was like, oh my, it's me.
So I'm not even joking. I went home.
I bought clippers and I buzzed my head. I buzzed.

Speaker 1 I started like with the number two, just like, and then that number two turned into a number one. And then eventually the guard came off.
And then eventually the straight raiser came out.

Speaker 1 And so ball was beautiful, bro. All right.

Speaker 2 All right. Last one for me.

Speaker 2 Over all the years you played, Club Country, all the things, who was the one best player you played with where you were like, this guy's just different level.

Speaker 3 I know the answer.

Speaker 1 Oh, the one best.

Speaker 3 If you don't say it, I'm going to be so angry.

Speaker 1 Not me, obviously. I mean,

Speaker 1 i'll i'm gonna cheat i'm gonna give you the one the the easy answer and then i'm gonna give you

Speaker 1 the the not easy answer the easy answer is is toti that's the one baby i knew it it's but it's like

Speaker 1 his pure

Speaker 1 football his ability to make passes I mean, see, he had eyes in the back of his head.

Speaker 1 I mean, and even, you know, even as he got a little bit older, like the things that he could do, the passes that he could play, the angled, the angles that he would see, the different, like, his right foot, I mean, he had every single like club in the bag.

Speaker 1 Like, and, and he knew, like, if he needed to hit a ball over the left back's head, he knew, like,

Speaker 1 did it need to be an inch over his head or did it need to be like, I mean, he was incredible, incredible. Um, so he, and for what he means to, to Roma and that club and that city, just the aura.

Speaker 1 Yeah,

Speaker 1 he was incredible.

Speaker 1 The other answer, and I give this to people when they ask sometimes,

Speaker 1 Marquinhos.

Speaker 3 Where did you play with him?

Speaker 1 At Roma. Oh, he's at Roma, yeah.

Speaker 1 He showed up to Roma.

Speaker 1 He had been a young player at Corinthians. And when he turned, because he didn't have European passport, then he could only come officially to Roma when he was, when he turned 18 years old.

Speaker 1 So he showed up, he showed up in Rome like literally the day of his 18th birthday. And he was like

Speaker 1 five foot nine or 10. He was so skinny.
He had braces. And

Speaker 1 you were looking at him in the most unassuming way going.

Speaker 1 And from the first session, you like, nobody could go by the guy.

Speaker 1 He was the lightest, easiest, most natural defender I've ever seen. I mean, his ability to defend and deal with situations and put out fires.
Um,

Speaker 1 he was, he was, he was amazing.

Speaker 3 And disclaimer, the talk to you thing, I remember calling you and being like, Mike, Mike, can you, could you get me a signed talk to you jersey? And you duly oblige.

Speaker 3 And the next camp, I had, I, I have my Roma number 10 jersey signed.

Speaker 1 Amazing. Thank you.
He's a legend.

Speaker 2 Yes. All right, man.
Well, this was awesome. Thank you.
We could do this forever. So much fun.
Most of all, Michael, really happy for you. Congrats again on winning in your first season.

Speaker 2 It's not always like that, I promise, but maybe it will be for you.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I know. Best of luck in your coaching career.
I cannot wait to see where this takes you because you've always had it about you. And

Speaker 2 I mean, the sky is literally the limit for you.

Speaker 1 I appreciate that, guys.

Speaker 1 Thanks for having me. This was a lot of fun.

Speaker 1 Good catching up and good football discussion. And

Speaker 1 yeah, let's do it again at some some point.

Speaker 3 I can't wait, man.

Speaker 2 Sounds good. All right, let's take a break.

Speaker 2 When we come back, we will get into your questions in the AT ⁇ T fan connection right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim and Michael today, presented by Volkswagen.

Speaker 2 This episode is brought to you by Airbnb.

Speaker 2 All right, Tim, between your work, your daughter, your son, or maybe just your own enjoyment, how much traveling do you think you've done to see soccer this year?

Speaker 3 Honestly, I've

Speaker 3 lost track at this point.

Speaker 3 You know, just this summer alone, I was all over the place.

Speaker 3 But it is, it's a beautiful thing to see how many soccer fans and how soccer has been embraced no matter where we go.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I was just in Austin. I'll be traveling to New York.
Everywhere I go, I meet fans. Whether I'm going to see a game myself or just on vacation, I see people everywhere.
I hear stories.

Speaker 2 I hear stories about their pilgrimage to Everton to go watch a game, to go see the new stadium, to go see their favorite team.

Speaker 2 They get immersed in the chants, the songs, that incredible feeling of seeing the game up close and personal.

Speaker 3 Well, I mean, I think that's where the game has changed. These trips have become a big deal for soccer fans.

Speaker 3 And this summer is going to be no different as we'll see the soccer community make their way to 11 host cities here in the U.S. to support their favorite national team.

Speaker 2 It's going to be incredible. I can't wait for it.
And what if those fans could turn their homes into an opportunity while they're away at the game?

Speaker 2 Hosting your home on Airbnb while you travel is an easy way to earn a little bit of extra cash, maybe go go towards tickets for your game that you want to go to. We know they're not cheap.

Speaker 2 Or maybe to help your kids pursue their soccer dreams.

Speaker 3 Yeah, your home might be worth more than you think. So find out how much at airbnb.com slash host.

Speaker 3 LD, for me, the holidays are all about connection to family and to friends. We host a lot.
So we got a lot of people over the house.

Speaker 3 Oftentimes when it starts to get chaotic and the turkey or the ham is getting burnt and the kids are running around playing with their new toys, I go out back by the fire pit and I choose chill.

Speaker 3 I crack open a Coors Light.

Speaker 2 Yeah, it's my favorite time of year. It gets cold,

Speaker 2 not quite as cold as New York, but it's cold outside. It gets dark early.
Kids are playing. We turn on the jacuzzi, relax in the hot tub with a Coors Light.

Speaker 2 Choose chill, relax, have family, friends, good food, good memories. My favorite time of year.

Speaker 3 When you embrace a chill mindset this holiday, it's a good time to choose chill and crack open a Coors Light.

Speaker 2 Choose chill this holiday season and then reach for a Coors Light. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door.

Speaker 2 Visit CoorsLight.com slash USLNT, or you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer.

Speaker 3 Celebrate responsibly. Hoors Brew and Company, Golden, Colorado.
There's nothing better than feeling like someone has your back and that things are going to get done even without you having to ask.

Speaker 3 Like your crisp new jersey waiting for you in the locker room or a perfectly set up wall for a free kick.

Speaker 2 Yeah, as we on Unfiltered Soccer get ready for next summer, we know that very little in the beautiful game is guaranteed.

Speaker 2 But as we prepare to bring our Unfiltered brand of non-stop soccer coverage, it's good to know AT ⁇ T has your back with the AT ⁇ T guarantee.

Speaker 3 Staying connected matters. That's why in the rare event of a network outage, AT ⁇ T will proactively credit you for a full day of service.
That's the AT ⁇ T guarantee.

Speaker 2 Learn more at ATT.com slash guarantee. AT ⁇ T, connecting changes everything.

Speaker 3 Credit for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or a wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers must be connected to impacted towers at onset of outage.

Speaker 3 Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com slash guarantee for full details.

Speaker 3 It's time for the fan connection presented by ATT. Every week, we invite you, the listener, to connect with us by submitting your questions.
At AT ⁇ T, connecting changes everything.

Speaker 3 And on USLNT, our connections with you will help grow the game. Time now for the AT ⁇ T Fan Connection.

Speaker 3 LD, we love this time of the show because we get to hang out with Jordan and give her loads of stick jordan welcome in

Speaker 3 hello what's going on it's happening it's out of st paul congrats to your uh to your baddies oh thank you

Speaker 4 um it's district versus empire i'm very excited to see

Speaker 3 i feel like you have a lot of teams i'm just gonna throw that out there they're not i but they're not my teams like i don't i don't know i don't know liverpool's my team st pauley's my team but that's your team oh and gotham's your team and they're in the final oh no are you are you

Speaker 3 a Chiefs fan? Yeah, Chiefs and Eagles. Yeah, she was Chiefs and Eagles.
Are you an Oklahoma City Thunder fan? That's interesting. I don't know what Chief Chief Sneak goes to making things up.

Speaker 4 Wait, can we talk about the jersey that I'm wearing right now?

Speaker 3 Because I got it this weekend at Classic Football Shirts on Canal Street in New York. Yeah, represent.

Speaker 4 It is, in fact, the 22-23 third shirt for FC Sim Holly. I googled it afterwards because it's inspired by a graffiti artist from Germany called Oz.

Speaker 2 They have a store dedicated to old soccer shirts.

Speaker 3 Yeah,

Speaker 3 shout out to them.

Speaker 3 That's really cool.

Speaker 3 They did not have any

Speaker 2 Donovan

Speaker 4 or Tim Howard shirts because apparently they sell out.

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 3 Let's go. Those are my guys.

Speaker 3 I walk past the shop every now and again.

Speaker 2 They only bought one, but they sold it out, baby.

Speaker 1 All right. Very cool.

Speaker 3 Okay.

Speaker 4 So

Speaker 4 I

Speaker 4 have a question.

Speaker 4 I want to ask you a question.

Speaker 4 My question for the two of you is

Speaker 4 we, there have been a lot of talk on the internet about something that happened last week in Major League Soccer, which is that there was an announcement that they are moving to the same calendar as basically most other leagues in the world starting in 2027, like late summer 2027.

Speaker 2 What are your

Speaker 4 thoughts about this change in terms of like, is it good? Is it bad? Is it whatever? And also,

Speaker 4 what do you think this is going to mean for the league as a whole?

Speaker 2 Go ahead, Tim.

Speaker 3 No, you go.

Speaker 2 All right.

Speaker 1 I'll go.

Speaker 2 As a general overall high-level 30,000-foot view, I love it. I think it's great for the league.
I understand the challenges with weather.

Speaker 2 I do, you know, just so people understand, there will be a break in the winter. I think it's mid-December through February-ish.
So the harshest, harshest months will be off.

Speaker 2 There will be a break in July-ish.

Speaker 2 The playoffs will take place in May.

Speaker 2 Most importantly, I think for the league, it aligns them with the international transfer window, which is crucial because it's really hard for MLS to bring in and buy players in November, December because they're halfway through their season.

Speaker 2 So a lot of times, this happened with Sun, with Tomas Mueller. You have to wait till the summer to get that player in.
Imagine if Mueller was in Vancouver all year or Sonny was in LA all year.

Speaker 2 Just forget about on the field. Think about off the field, the impact and the revenue and everything that comes with that.
So that is crucial.

Speaker 2 My only pushback is: I wish they would have had this ready to go right after the World Cup because there's going to be so much momentum. And MLS will still be going on after the World Cup.
It's great.

Speaker 2 But like people would be excited about the start of a new season and you roll into it. So I know there's nuance.
I know there's reasons why, but that would have been, I think, ideal.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I'm with you. I like it.
I really like it. I think it's

Speaker 3 what MLS needs to do just to kind of get

Speaker 3 on a level playing field with the rest of the world.

Speaker 3 I think the transfer piece is really interesting because we see this in Houston.

Speaker 3 You're there as an ownership group and a staff, and you're trying to create this.

Speaker 3 You're trying to create a winning team, right?

Speaker 3 And most of the conversation, and every MLS team is having this. I just happen to be having it in Houston.
It's like, let's see if we get off to a good start.

Speaker 3 And if we're, if, if we're, if we're really good in the summer months, then we bring in a blockbuster. And if we don't, then what do we do?

Speaker 3 Or if we're crap, we bring in someone to kind of kickstart it.

Speaker 3 It puts you behind. It puts every MLS team behind in terms of like trying to get their transfer in and up and running.

Speaker 3 And by the way, they come in oftentimes, as you've mentioned, off the back of a full season, right? So you're getting a player off the back of a full season.

Speaker 3 He maybe goes on vacation for a couple of weeks. Then he comes in the training and it's hit or miss on whether he's ready to go after two weeks or three weeks.

Speaker 3 And it's just, it causes its own problems

Speaker 3 not being aligned with the with the FIFA window.

Speaker 3 I like the fact that MLS postseason won't be competing with NFL or college football. I think that's a big thing.

Speaker 3 The two things that I'm really interested about short term is the shoulder season, right? So when we switch, and Jordan, you can explain this.

Speaker 3 When we end the old format and begin the new format, there's going to be a point in time where there's an abbreviated season. I guess it's going to be in the spring, right?

Speaker 3 Is that correct?

Speaker 2 In 2027, yeah, it'll be like January to or February to May.

Speaker 3 It's going to be like a race. Yeah.

Speaker 1 Right. Yeah.

Speaker 3 And then, and then I actually, oh, go ahead. No, you love.
Go ahead. You love it.
Oh, I love it, dude.

Speaker 2 The best, the best baseball season in history, ever, never, ever can tell me otherwise was the COVID-shortened one. It was like, I think it was 58 games or something.

Speaker 2 Every game basically counted for three. And so every game was like, it was like such a battle.
That's why the NFL is king, right?

Speaker 3 Every game means so much.

Speaker 2 And so you're going to have this 14-game season. You lose one.
I mean, you're in big trouble.

Speaker 3 You win three in a row. You're in the playoffs.
We're going to have, right? It's going to be great.

Speaker 3 We're going to have this shoulder season and people are going to go, wait, wait, let's let's go to this format every year. Right.
But no,

Speaker 3 I do think, and I do think the last part for me, Jordan, is the weather. It's going to, I mean, it's what everyone's talking about.

Speaker 3 You had a bunch of owners who are obviously not thrilled about that, particularly the ones up north. And I do.
I think it's going to be, I think it's going to be an interesting sort of issue.

Speaker 2 I think it makes it fun. I do too.
Some snow games, some

Speaker 2 I think it's fun. It's better than the going, all due respect, going to Houston in August,

Speaker 2 which you may still do, but like, I think it's better for me.

Speaker 4 One of the things I thought was interesting when I was watching the press conference with Don Garber and Nelson Rodriguez, who's been kind of like leading this movement to make this change.

Speaker 4 Somebody, and I can understand why this person asked this question, but somebody asked them to speak about what it's going to be like in terms of player contracts, because a lot of player contracts go through December.

Speaker 4 So how are they going to kind of figure out how to navigate that?

Speaker 4 And of course, Don Garber was like, I'm not answering questions that we haven't answered with the Players Association yet, which makes sense completely.

Speaker 4 But I feel like that is definitely a complicated part of this that I'm glad nobody's asked me to solve.

Speaker 3 But one that they haven't not thought about, right? Like that's that would have, that would have been one of the top three things on the, on the agenda.

Speaker 2 So yeah, the agents are going to have fun here.

Speaker 1 All right.

Speaker 4 Let's get to, speaking of MLS, another actual fan question. This one is from Ramon via email.
I did actually ask him how to pronounce his name so that I said it correctly.

Speaker 1 Thank you.

Speaker 4 He said, I have an MLS question for Landon and Tim.

Speaker 4 The fact is that I'd love to watch more MLS soccer games, but I get frustrated trying to figure out which platform I need to stream them on, which games that I can watch for free, etc.

Speaker 4 I know the reason there is limited access is because of money, but MLS is missing a huge opportunity to grow the league by not showing more free games on multiple platforms, especially when Messi is in the league.

Speaker 4 If you look at teams like the Cubs and Braves, who broadcast all their games on WGN or TNT, their fan bases are huge and across the entire country. Do you agree?

Speaker 2 I do. I do.
I understand the reasons why the league went with Apple and put it behind a paywall or an additional paywall and tried to make money in that way.

Speaker 2 You know, they have to, someone's got to pay for the messy deal, the messy contract. But I think you're losing an opportunity to just grow.
to just keep growing the game.

Speaker 2 The reality is, is even the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball, they have significantly more fans than Major League Soccer at this point. We're still very young in our history.

Speaker 2 And they still broadcast games free over linear TV, right? Because they're still always trying to build the fan base. And I think it was a missed opportunity with Messi over the last couple of years.

Speaker 2 Now, part of that announcement was that

Speaker 2 Apple TV will no longer be behind, it will no longer be behind the paywall. So as long as you have Apple TV, you can watch.
So I think that's a big plus for the league.

Speaker 2 They realized that they needed to do that. But I do think so.
I think having it on Fox or CBS or TNT or NBC, I think would be huge for the league.

Speaker 3 I do. Yeah.
Yeah, I don't disagree.

Speaker 3 I mean, obviously, linear TV, every now and again, you get that pop, you get that big game pop of like, there's a certain window where you know you could see the biggest teams. And yeah,

Speaker 3 but I don't disagree. They had to,

Speaker 3 you know, I think traditionally, and you talked about the league being,

Speaker 3 you know, sort of younger than a lot of the other leagues, but ultimately we're 30 years into this thing, right?

Speaker 3 And we haven't had, now people will argue with this, but we haven't had any real significant television deal, right? And so it has to start somewhere.

Speaker 3 And with the Apple deal, that was the most significant television deal we've ever had in MLS. So

Speaker 3 are there going to be complaints? Sure. Can you work some of the kinks out? Sure.
But ultimately, it's the biggest and best deal we've ever had.

Speaker 2 And also, if you think about Tim, the other leagues, NBA, MLB, NFL, they are starting now to go to streaming services for their game, you know, Apple TV or

Speaker 2 Peacock or whatever, but they're so much more established than MLS. Like MLS, you should see it every weekend across multiple channels.
So you're just, you're still building the game, in my opinion.

Speaker 4 I think there's a lot of leagues out there that are finding a way to bring those two things together.

Speaker 4 I mean, we in our group chat have lots of conversations about which soccer game is available where over the weekend.

Speaker 4 And so it can be that some of your games are available for free and then some of your games are still behind a paywall. Just to kind of, cause once you give people a taste, right?

Speaker 3 That's how you kind of cook them. That's right.

Speaker 3 Okay.

Speaker 4 That's it for this week. Just a reminder: if people would like, oh, by the way, I just want to say, I got so many emails from people that started with please in all caps, which I really appreciate.

Speaker 4 So if you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, listeners are smart.

Speaker 3 Yeah, they do listen.

Speaker 4 I appreciate that. Just email me at feedback at unfilteredsoccer.com.

Speaker 3 That's it. Thanks, Joe.
Thanks. Thanks, Jare.

Speaker 2 All right, Tim, amazing show. U.S.
recap, Michael Bradley. God, that was fun to catch up with him.

Speaker 2 Such a great human, and I think lots of exciting things, maybe sooner than we think in his future. Thank you guys for being with us.

Speaker 2 Remember to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasts. And as always, follow on our social media platforms at unfiltered soccer for bonus content.

Speaker 2 Thank you to our friends at VW, our presenting sponsor. We love you guys.
Our fan connection sponsor, AT ⁇ T, love you guys too. And our stoppage time sponsor, FanDuel.

Speaker 3 Yeah, thanks, Mikey, for coming on. Always a pleasure and fun times, man, just reliving the glory days and chatting about what is to come.

Speaker 3 Great job from the U.S. Men's National team.
Long may that continue. And hopefully that continues to roll this week.

Speaker 3 Thank you to our Unfiltered Refresh sponsor, Coors Light, and our additional sponsors Cafe Bustello and Airbnb. Have an amazing week.

Speaker 3 We'll be back next Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer.

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