All right, I want to ask you a question while we get as we get into Atlanta and Miami finally and satisfy people's requests. Something we talked about after the game, Jason, was the change that Miami made at halftime or after halftime where they you know, Sujio Busquets wasn't available, you had a more defensive minded midfielder in the game, you
took him out. Yeah, if Busquets is unable to go, how do you piece together that midfield if you're Miami, so you do not get absolutely massacred on the counter because, yeah, Miami's going to dominate the ball almost certainly, But there are moments in any game where you cannot dominate the ball for one hundred.
Percent of it. You don't have an answer.
You flat out don't have an answer in that position with what we have really seen because Sergio Busquets and Yanick Bright not training this morning. According to reports out of South Florida, Yanick Bright is the more defensive midfielder of the rest of them, after Sergio bus Getz, Who's such an important element for that team in the way that they play, in the way that they stay organized, even though defensively He's a liability, right, not really a liability.
I think he's been very good for this team. And when you have a team that is so top heavy like Miami, you got to hit on guys like Jannick Bright, whether it's from the draft or from the league.
Or what have you, and they did well.
He's going to be out, according to I can't remember which player talked about it. He's not going to play. So how do you deal with that? I don't think there's an easy answer, because you know, we haven't seen Julian Gressel in this playoff series. You can't put him there and ask him to defend in that way. And Tota Martinez has played him as a central midfielder, but he's a liability defensively and we've seen that throughout his career.
Who else can you put their David Ruiz is out, so that would be another player that you could have put there. He's not available. You're going to have to put somebody there and ask them to do a job that they don't do. You know, can Benjamen Kurumowski do that job to an extent? He can run, he can do things, but he's not a six. He's not a defensive midfielder. Do you put a.
Noah Allen in there?
You played no Allen as the central of three center backs in the last game, which was crazy to me. It worked, Okay, I don't think Atlanta exploited it enough. But can you move him up and bring another center back into the group.
Maybe. But this is where.
MLS rosters can bite you at various points where you have limited depth, and you're gonna have to make decisions on where that depth is limited when you construct a roster. Miami made a decision to have really three guys who can play the sixth role to varying degrees, and all of them might be unavailable. So how do you handle it? If you're Miami. I think you have to handle it by going out and trying to score ten goals.
Yeah, I don't think you can handle it in another way.
So it's gonna be fascinating because that's generally not taught to Martino's mo in these games. When you get to the stage of the season and you get to these kinds of big games, he gets more conservative than usual. I don't think he's gonna have that luxury, and if he does, look he's gonna have to find something in someone that we haven't really seen. And I don't think it's gonna get talked about. I think he's just gonna
get glossed over. You know, we'll be talking about it on the radio, because if he plays David Martinez in that role, for example, does he have the characteristics to be able to be a six? Yeah, I think he does. He's never really played it. I'm sure there's some point where he played it for River or played it at Defensi Houstisia, but he's not a six. Can he be a six for a game for you because you don't
have another six? That's where you're down to the experience and the qualities of Tota Martino And can he find that or is his option gonna be unorthodox for him and say, well, we're just gonna get hit there and we're gonna concede goals, but we can score more goals than them at home with the offensive talent we have. I don't know what his answer is going to be Without Janick Brighton, Sergio Buskitz.
And we had Michael Parkhurst on in our number one and we were discussing pressure and elimination games, and you have the younger players that are there at the Kramowsky age and the pressure that's going to be on them in this match with the older players that have been there before, Messi Suarez, Geordie al But, et cetera. Mixing that with the younger players who haven't been in that situation. The pressure, the emotional pressure of not wanting to mess
this up. I think that that ratchets things up all so emotionally for Inner Miami, no matter how they line things up.
Yeah, I don't know if the younger players are gonna necessarily think about it that way. I think it's just pressure. I don't know if they're worried about letting somebody down in these moments and that kind of stuff. I'm really curious. I mean, Federica Rodondo would be the other one, but you're gonna ask him to stay home a lot more and try to figure that out. But Rodondo's got to handle this moment. Diego Gomez has got to handle this moment.
Tomas Abules, David Martinez have to handle this moment. And the thing about it, when you really dig into how this game can flow. If Atlanta scores early, how does Miami respond If Atlanta keeps Miami off the board for a period of time and at zero zero for a long way. How does Miami respond? How do the young players respond to the crowd getting antsy? How do the young players respond to that feeling of oh crap in the stands. I don't know the veterans will handle it.
The veterans will be fine with it, But how do those young players handle that. I think it's more of that than you know, this idea of it's not Argentina in the World Cup in twenty twenty two or Copa America in twenty twenty one, where the young players did not want to let Lionel Messi down. That's different. You're talking about a cultural icon and one of the last opportunities that they're going to have to win something. This is not that I don't think Ben Jim and Kremowsky
has that exact same feeling about Lionel Messi. He's going to be one of the closer ones. Some of the other South Americans are going to have that to an extent, but it's not the same. This is more of the end of visual to me, of how do you handle being a front running team but not being able to run out front. How does that get dealt with? And I don't know what the answer is going to be. And these are the moments where you learn a lot about individual character.
And we'll see.
I think we've seen from Atlanta in these moments as of late, that they have risen to the idea of being that underdog and that's what they've rallied around, and they have handled those moments very well. Miami hasn't been in these moments very much as a group, and we'll see what happens with them without potentially Sergio Busquet's and Yonick Bright sounds like neither one train today. It's going to be a big ask for them to be able
to go. If anybody can handle that, it's Busquetes because of his history and his intelligence, But Kenny run because intelligence doesn't make those legs move any faster. How does Miami handle not having an ideal six?
I don't know. And Atlanta has to try to exploit that.
If that's the case, and shift sides to the field now because I do want to get to the flanks. Something we talked about as well is that Savo you need to might not actually have an empty sign on his tank and the way he played and the way he moved kind of trying to stalemate Jordi Alba to where they're kind of even even if they're canceling each other out. I wanted to ask on you know how you see that potentially playing out in game three.
Jordi Alba is the player for Miami that scares me the most. I know that's sacrilege on a team with Messi and Suarez, but if Jordie Alba went reason of the field, he's the one who can change everything because then you're getting something it's not unexpected, but it's coming from an unexpected place to tilt the game, and he tay. If that's the case, he's probably eliminating Saba from joining the attack for Atlanta. So that's the battle to me
that determines the game. If it's a stalemate like it was on Saturday night, in my opinion, then that opens the door honestly for Messi and Suarez to do what they can do, but it opens the door for other Atlanta players to try to win their battles. And the opposite side is an interesting one because if if you go with the same group for Atlanta and you play Saba as a wing back, and it's Saba dealing with
Jordi Alba up and down the field. Okay, the other side, you're not gonna ask Pedro Amador to exactly do the same things as Saba.
You're gonna ask.
Him to do a decent bit of them. And Marcela Wagan is not Jordi Alba. So can you exploit that side more in the run of play? I think so, and you're gonna have to be smart with it. Look in another issue here that is definitely flying under the radars Jay Fortune.
He's banged up. He didn't train fully. Yesterday.
Rob Valentino talked about it and he took a knock and also a roll of the ankle in the game. Rob said it was pretty surprising that he was able to do as much as he did for as long as he did in that match, and he had a huge play on Messi late at the top of the eighteen. That was vital in Atlanta getting the opportunity to go
win it. To be able to do the things that you want with Saba and Amador getting forward and exploiting Miami's want to get forward from their fullbacks, you've got to have central midfielders that can run in those moments. You don't have another one like Jay Fortune on the bench. Tristan Milliambob is not the same player. You're gonna then have to reconfigure your midfield a little bit. If it is Milliam Baugh, McCarty and Sleish can do it. But he's one person. He's already doing it on one side.
So how do you handle that If you're Atlanta. It's a more subtle issue in the central midfield than not having a dedicated six or asking Ridondo or asking a center back to play it. But it is going to have an impact, and it's going to potentially affect how much Amador and or Saba can get forward. To make that fullback from Miami have to defend more. I think it's gonna you're probably gonna have to make the trade off a little bit more. You're gonna have to deal
with Alba more. I mean, look, if you're thinking about which weapon am I more afraid of Jordye Alba over Marcella Wagan. So you're probably gonna have to have Sleish to that side of the field to help deal with that just in case. And that's what we've seen and I think that is fine, But then Amador is gonna have to adjust to Mullyambah not being able to cover as much ground as J four and help as much and maybe stay home a little bit more at times.
So it's gonna be really interesting, Like those little chess matches in this game are gonna determine it. And I think it's been a fascinating series so far and it's only gonna get more fascinating in Game three.
What about other injuries. I know that Stean was back at practice yesterday.
Yeah, I don't know if he's good enough to start. I don't know.
Uh, you obviously would love to have him back because I thought he has been really good down the stretch once he got healthy and got consistent games. Derek Williams has been outstanding. I thought he had his best game for Atlanta in the Game two, and that's not just because he scored. He was really well organized, really good at leading the line and stepping out when he needed to step out and closing down that space at the top of the eighteen.
I thought he was great. You're gonna need that from him.
And Luisa Bram has been very good in the moments we've seen him against Miami, You're gonna need that as well. I don't if Stian can go. I think it's gonna be hard for him to go ninety. Do you want him to close it? Do you want him to start it? I don't know how deep he can go and do it. So that then potentially gives you the ability to change up your shape though, if you want to or change
up how you organize it. Because with Saba as a wing back, because you've played Ronald Hernandez as a central as a center back, do you want Hernandez as a wing back to try to defend Jordi album more?
Maybe not be able to get forward as much.
But does that give you the ability to go to more of a five two two one, uh three four three three four two one, whatever you want to call it. Think of al Marim and what he's done with Sporting and what he's probably gonna do with Manchester United. Do you want Saba and Maranchuk as those two tens behind Tira which we would assume would start and in front of two central midfielders, or do you want three central midfielders and then have to sacrifice somebody or do you
keep Bernandez in like again, see lots of questions. And that's the thing when you add gregorson back in is it just straight up for a bram or does it give you the ability to move other pieces around? If it doesn't from the start, it might at some point in the game. And that's what I kind of come back to you with this one is.
Game two.
The way that it played out, you really didn't have to make a dramatic change in the shape until the very end, and you didn't really have a clear cut option when fortune had to come off. You went aggressive with Silva and it paid off. I don't think you start wide open aggressive here, but do you have to turn to that at some point? And does it give you the ability getting gregorson back even with potentially losing
fortune or having a limited fortune. Does it give you the ability to get more of a three front or a one in front of two which can expand to three depending on how you want it to look. Yeah, it does, but I don't know if you start that way. So to answer the questions about the lineups and the individuals, I don't know how it starts. I think Rob Valentino has been really crafty and how he's put this team
together in these games. I don't think there's a guarantee that it's different than the team started against Miami in Game two, but I do think you see more evolution of how the team finishes between the start and between the final whistle.
All right, Jered, go for it. What else is on your mind?
I just realize we're running Jason up against the clock here and we're making work over time. To your point about not just the kids on the roster, but even the veterans on the roster, and we talked about this in all the playoff games, So why not just finish
it off here? The longer this game days scoreless or tiede you know, how do how does everybody deal with that and deal with the pressure of you know, if you're the home team, I don't do you want this to go to penalties, especially with Brad Guzan deciding to I don't know, enter his avatar state in the last
uh in the last month or so. But the longer it goes, you know, how do you how do how do players deal with it, not just the young players, but even the veteran players of that pressure of we got to get something we got to get something.
I think on the Atlanta side, they'll handle it fine. They're they're not going into to play for that. They're going in to play to win. It's a ninety minute game. It might not be wild risk taking early, but they're going in to win the game. I do not think they're going in to defend and hold on. They're gonna pick their spots, they're gonna be smart about it, but they're looking for ways to win the game. For Miami. Yeah,
I don't know how they handle that. I don't know how they handle backs against the wall, struggling to score goals. I don't know I will I don't know how that fan base will handle it. I don't know how the stadium will handle it. I don't know how it will feel in the building. You guys know what a feeling of that anticipation is in a building.
You know it from your roles. I know it from my role.
It's different in how it affects you on the field and does it make you try to do too much? Does it make you scared, does it make you too tentative? Does it in some for some players it makes them rise to the occasion. I don't know with some of these guys, Messi, Suarez, Alba, they've risen to the occasion so many times in these situations, and they very well could. And even if the young players around them struggle and fall apart, Messi's good enough to win this, Like that's just real talk.
You have to try to take that away from him.
If you try to take Suarez away in Albo way, and that's three guys you got to try to take away, but all them are capable of rising to that occasion. The question is going to be is the rest of the group capable And even if they can't rise to the occasion, can they prevent making the mistake that ends up sending shockwaves to this league? Because look, it's a it's not a question about who the league office wants to win this game. And that doesn't mean something's going
to get tilted. That doesn't mean there's going to be a bad call here and a bad call there. Those happen on their own. But everything is against Atlanta United and they know that. I thought Brad Gazan's question about if there had been any punishment for Miami coming out late for the second half was very interesting because I think it gives you the mentality feeds into the fea attitude, doesn't it. That's something at Lanta United's going to feed on when those moments happen in the game, and they
will again. It happens in a normal game in May, it's going to happen in this game too. There's going to be a bad call. There's going to be a call that you think is a bad call. There's going to be something that drives you crazy. For Atlanta that's going to fuel them. I think, I really do so. I'm not worried about the effects of those sorts of moments. I am worried on the Miami side of how that back line defends when their offense isn't getting goals, and
I don't think they handle it well. But Atlanta then has to topple them over and they have to find a way to be attacking enough and in the right spots to punish Miami. If Miami comes out with the same group and No Allen's at center back, Atlanta has to find a way to get crosses into Jamal Tira matched up with no Allen and if then things move around.
I like No Allen as a player. He's just not a center back.
If Miami's able to adjust and get Martinez or Aviles matched up on tra in those moments, then Atlanta has to find the cut back to the top of the eighteen, and it's gotta be Moranchuk coming back across, or one of the other central midfielders making a run in. It very well could be a Tristan Milliam Bah who I think finds those space as well. You've got to exploit that. That is where Atlanta can beat Miami. The flip side. You know how Miami can beat Atlanta.
It's talent.
It's sheer talent with that attacking group, it's finding that space at the top of the eighteen. Atlanta has to be so dedicated to taking that away, making Messi go wider, to try to find opportunities, making Suarez drift away from the middle, to go try to find opportunities, try to prevent Jordi Alba from killing you and make it be one of the other seven guys on the field. Try to take those three away as best as you can. A lot of teams have tried it, very few have
done it over three games. We'll see if Atlanta can do that. But in my opinion. The other way is what we'll decide it. For Atlanta, they score, it's gonna be hard for Miami to handle that. If Atlanta can hold on for a long time. But if Atlanta gets a goal, I think Miami's going to struggle to handle that. Atlanta's gotta find ways to attack, not all the time, not with abandon but in very intelligent ways and punish this weak defensive group for Miami, and we'll see if they.
Can do it.
Broadcast plans one more time partner seven o'clock for the five Strives countdown eight ten. Allegedly, if Miami shows up on time for the kickoff in Fort Lauderdale at Chase Stadium, we will be on Star ninety four on your radio, ninety four point one FM. On the Odyssey app type in Start ninety four. Not hard to find. You won't be able to listen to us on Apple. You'll have to sync that up. Not too hard, you can handle that.
Make sure you're following soccer down here on all of your platforms, because we're gonna have a ton of content. Barring some late chain ranges of things. We are sending the most media to Fort Lauderdale to cover Atlanta United, maybe some of the most media in terms of sheer numbers to cover any Atlanta United postseason match in the club's history. It doesn't happen without you guys consuming the content. It doesn't happen without all of us being borderline insane.
It doesn't happen without the support that we have gotten from you guys, from people like Kaiser Permanente, from Scott Flood, you know, finding those partnerships for us. It doesn't happen without the dedication of the people that are doing all this. So there's gonna be a lot of content starting in the middle of the afternoon from Fort Lauderdale, all over your soccer down here platforms.
So hopefully you enjoy it.
Hopefully you are with us in spirit if you're not in Fort Lauderdale. And it is an epic kind of night in the history of this So I hope that all of you enjoy it wherever you are.
All Right, Partner, I know the fourth held up the lightboard a long time ago. We'll see you down there in Fort Lauderdale.
Audios.
All right, that's Jason. Jason has to like hop on a plane and head south.