For that, we go to the man in his studio space and find out what's going on in the land of Nico Moreno.
Look at you?
What's going on? John?
Is a late night for you, brother?
Wasn't it extremely late? Got here about twelve thirty?
Uh?
You know, I had to upload some videos rewatch a little bit of the end of that Portland game. So yeah, man, I was up for quite some time. Is this my third cup of coffee? Hoping that it's gonna do me something? Well, something, do something, any I need to load something else. But that's all we have, Rightmond.
Well, I mean you can always crack open that window off your left shoulder and sit there and let the sun shine in and sit there and go, well, you know, it's.
Like, what's what's what's up with that? You mentioned Portland before?
We kind of get into League's Cup and Seattle is the top seed and everything else?
What in the wide world of sports going on with Santi Moreno?
Basically he wants to go to Flu and he just like he jetted. He's like, I'm out, I'm done, I'm out the door and didn't play last night.
Didn't tell anybody apparently that he was leaving and so.
He's like, I'm leaving and I'm playing at this joint and y'all can't catch me. You know, it's like, you know, he's the equivalent of the gingerbread man. Right now, you can't catch me. I'm the gingerbread man. Santy Moreno has like flown the coop. What is going on with that?
Uh yeah, I look, that was reported. Unfortunately I didn't catch on to it before that. But this is something that doesn't Tago Moreno. You know, he's dealt with issues like this with his clubs in the past, and you know, he is definitely a very talented player that unfortunately, and this is my opinion, he doesn't have the right circle around him. And I think that his agents and the people who you know, handle that sort of situation for him,
don't necessarily have him take the best decisions. He has some issues with Americaya Kayli prior to coming to Portland, where you know, there was a whole bunch of issues with people who had like rights to his you know, player card and his move and a whole bunch of things that just happened. Whenever you're a young talented player that unfortunately has people around you that are probably looking
for their own benefit rather than yours. So look, he clearly wants a move to a top team in South America, a team that you know right now has all eyes on them, right They are a team that just have recently moved a guy like John Arius down to the Premiere. You know, They're definitely a team that can be a stepstone to Europe, or it could just be a team
that you are a powerhouse in his South America. So, uh, there's always ways around to get your way that way, but what he is doing right now is just unexcusable. It is unprofessional.
Uh.
And more importantly, you know, when you have a team like Portland where there's a leader like Diego Chara, who I know, you know, has taken and had you know, had a lot to do with Santi Moreno's initial adaptation into Portland, Like that's a slap in the face for you know, someone like that. I will get a little bit more into this. I will reach out to some contexts that at Portland to figure out one, what is
the group think about it? What are the players? You know, what's the feel of you know, your teammate just kind of leaving you, you know, high and dry like that in the middle of a tournament where now Lasstor is the one that's taken over that position and what's going on with him. But it is an unfortunate situation. I don't think that's the right way to go about it, and I don't know if even that's the right way to go against Portland. Portland might be willing to just say, hey, look,
we don't want to trade you now. You're doing all these things and we're just gonna, you know, file something with FIFA or do whatever you want, but you're under contract.
That's it.
Yeah, And so he's just added just to go a wall unexcused absence, ned grab a voice saying as much, and it's like, go, we don't want to sell him. He said that he's leaving. He left, and so it's an unexcused absence. I just saw that come across my bottle last night and I'm like, oh, we got to file that one away. Your late night which has necessitated your third cup of coffee. Gave Seattle the top seed number one in the standings in the MLS side, and it is coming down to the last match day. More
on the MLS side than the League AMECHI side. If I did the math correctly, I think basically Warez just needs not to lose and they become team number four and they would be the one to advance with just
the extra point. Seattle takes care of business late last night and it's all good on that end, and so it's a two to one win and you end up with running the table highest goal differential, and it was a late red didn't necessarily make a whole lot of difference, as Massofski scored in the eighty seventh to make it to to one three for three and now you just wait for everybody else before you get back into playing mid week and weekend all over again.
Yeah. Look, I mean Seattle was the most dominant team across both sides, both League AMEX and MLS win all their game's highest goal differential. They did it with rotating a lot of players, seeing a lot of new faces and trying to figure out what's next. And I think that's credit to Brian Smetzer. I think it's credit to this group of talented players. Yesterday, Brian Semester decides to give Osase his very first start, and he pays off the kid I thought played very well, I thought that
he was good on the ball. He was good in hold up play. He initially was having a little bit of trouble getting on the ball, but eventually when he did, I thought he made a count a couple of nice little finesse plays that you know, are always good to see from a young player, well youngish right, youngish player, and they are all positive signs. Not to mention the fact that ultimately his biggest attribute, what Brian called was going to keep him in this league, is that tenacity,
that ability to go and get the ball. He is just phenomenal when it comes to with an aerial duels and he does it consistently. He has great technique for it. He's shown it both at the Tacoma Defiance level as well as with the Seattle Sounders, and he pay off here today. I thought that Seattle, despite conceding first and get in a gut punch right before the end of the first half because they get a PK it's awarded to Seattle. Alber Rusnak gets on the ball and the
penalty marker puts it on the left post. That was a big missed opportunity. And a minute after, right after that shows goes across and has a phenomenal shot on top of the eighteen that puts Tijuana with a one zero lead right before half. So it takes a confident team.
He takes a team that can get to a situation like that, trust the system, make the adjustments in the second half, because they do think that the Seattle Saunders had a bit of a slower start than they wanted, and they're able to come in and have the right intensity to start off the second have they push all
those back even farther than they already works. To be honest, I Loko Abreu was very comfortable just assuming pressure, holding through pressure, bunkering down and playing off of the counter. But Seato did right to break them down and started with alsace goal. Then later Danimasovski comes off the bench puts a second one away. You know, there is also another goal that gets taken off because of an offset position. So Seattle, just in my opinion, continues to generate a
whole lot of offense. For those of you that love stats, they had a XG of four point four. You know, they shot I believe twenty six times overall in this game. I thought that they dominated statistically this game and in the moments where maybe things looked a little dicey and shotos was a very physical team. Although I will say they also rotated. I mean they knew they were out. Uh Selah Stana bro knew that he had a game. Uh that is important for him in the domestic play,
and therefore he rotated. No Hilbert tomorrow. You know a lot of changes there for that shows team. But Seattle takes care of business and that's what really matters here. I will say this to just conclude, I think that Seattle did a great job at finding out what they could use. Reed gets a start. I thought he was very good. Coloney got a start. I thought he was very good. Ryan Kent I thought it was okay, he's
a guy that's still trying to find his feet. I thought that initially in the first half wasn't very effective. But another greedy performance by Ryan Kent gets the assist in the Osacea goal. So you know that that is credit to Ryan Kent. So Brian Smetzer moving the right levers now they move on, Uh, don't play the galaxy
with some rest of a LECs as well. So I just think that Seattle and Brian Smetzer did a very good job at these group's h in league's play, and they are now the top team, and they'll figure out who they played next to the way you started the show. I will also say that if Juarez wings and they bid Red Bulls, they would become the thirteam and Seattle would be forced to play Tigris, Which that's kind of a bummer if you are the number one team in the Group States and you have to play Tigris. It's
not the way you probably saw that going. So hopefully for Seattle's interest, you're probably rooting for Red Bulls.
Yes, yeah, right now.
Lega Mcki says, it is once again Juarez five points if like I said, if they end up with if they end up with the draw and losing the shootout, you finish with six and you're gonna keep that plus three, So that would put them ahead of Puebla and knock them in is the four if they if they win in PKS, two points still knocks Puebla out. Tea Grace
is the four. Seattle would play on the crossover, and then if they win, it would be eight, and you would imagine greater than and so tea Grace once again drops and so you're staring at all these things and you're sitting there going, man, can things just stay the way that they are?
Can Juarez lose?
You are rooting for Red Bulls massively if you are Seattle coming into tonight, absolutely.
I mean, Tigre's is a quality team. They are clearly the more talented team, and they're a club that is used to winning this sort of tournament. So I definitely would not want to face them. Not to mention the fact that, for all things accounted last night, as we talked with other media members, if it's Puebla, Seattle would host, but if it's Tigres would choose the location of that particular game. So that's yet again another thing that Seattle would go and have a disadvantage of. I'll add two
things about yesterday's game. Both coaches had some pretty thirsting quotes. On the side of Bryan's Metzter, he called Dannymusovski the moosia that moose saya, and my job almost hits the floor where he said that. Obviously he said it jokingly, but he said, you know, he saved the team one
more time and Sevastana brew Man. He went all in on He understands that the rules were said prior to this tournament, and that's why he's not making an excuse, but he said that Mexican teams are in a clear disadvantage and his team was in a clear disadvantage going into this game because the Seattle team players can't paraphrasing here, but they got to be home, They got to eat some pasta, some chickens, some nice salad, slipping their own beds, and then just kind of roll up here and just
play this game while his team has been having to travel, be having to stay out, and he definitely thinks that with some meaner words, he said that, you know, they're kind of treated like a team that has to do whatever, while Seattle and the other MLS teams get to have all of the privileges and things like that. So interesting point. You know, I've said in the past, the League's Cup at some point is gonna have to make some adjustments and make it a little bit more of a two way,
at least in the later stages. But as you and I both know, John, the money's here. LEAGUEX knows that they want those ticket sales here rather than in Mexico, so you know, sometimes it's it could be a double edged swort there for Legax.
Yes, and that's one of the things that I'm hoping gets addressed at some point, with travel issues and trying to cross borders and things like that, where you can have those home matches in the group stay in sorry phase one, in the Phase one stage where you can be at some of those fantastic venues, whether it's the Estadio Akron, the Messio Diaz, the you know, the home of the crack in at Mazatlan, a lot of cool venues that I hope eventually get brought into this process
when things can be a lot easier when you look at Phase.
One in general.
Now that we're wrapping up Phase one, what have been some of the surprises for you and what have been some of the disappointments for you?
Yeah, I mean the surprises are mainly on the Liga m X side.
Shoot.
I would even say maybe Portland was a surprise, although they got a pretty easy draw. I would say, with the exception of obviously the last game, I thought that you know, s Louis, you know, it's a pretty easy there game that you can kind of manage. So I think that Portland has played probably above their weight class a little bit, especially with all of the injuries and some of the things that Nevels had to face there in Portland. So maybe they've been a bit of a
surprise there in this tournament. But it's mainly on the side of got an X right. I mean, you got Puebla, a team that's in the bottom of the standings. You got jua Is another team that's at the bottom of the standings and they are kind of pushing, while the Grandes like Chievas, cruz Asou, Monterey all those are you
know there and gone. So uh. In terms of disappointments on the side of MLS, I would say San Diego, you know, they fought hard, but they just seem to be a dollar short every single time in those things.
To get doesn't need to get a red and lose his head either.
Absolutely, Yeah, you don't have to kick the players. I mean, you know, keep your head, you know, cool man, I mean you're an important player. What what what are we doing here?
Uh?
They are clearly a team that also lost a striker that they certainly need, and they felt that without a doubt. But you know Orlando too. Orlando is a team that even now there's still they're on the outside looking in despite putting you know a show one ni cosa, right, I mean, which Moodiel gets a hat trick, A guy that has his course since May a brace for Martino Hada that you know is one of the best camps
in MLS right now. Uh So they're a team that was also interesting because I had them going through and they kind of struggle in their own way and now they're hoping to get some results or they would have had a very good last game, but with nothing to kind of show for it.
All.
Right, now that's do you have Leagues Cup Phase one done? We get to go to the knockouts and the quarters and go midwek weekend, midweek weekend. Guess what we still have matches now for the back to getting to normal in MLS. So nothing like having to do two things at once all over again. And this weekend time for Cliffhanger as it always is, and everybody's playing once again
on Saturday Sunday. The folks that got to play later in the week because of League's Cup, they got the special dispensation to play on Sunday, and as you look at a couple of matchups, you've got some folks that are now in Thomas Mueller is now official up in Vancouver, so that's big news there. And it looks like Luccio Alcasta is out in FCD and it looks like he's heading to Flu I believe as a part of this transfer window that's got about another two weeks attached to it.
I'm staring at matchups. NYC is an early favorite against NYC is at home. Crewe is a dog at a plus one seventy Toronto, with Georgia Mihailovich being traded over there to take over for you're hoping in senior and Bernardeski. It's like, we'd like some offense please, and Georgia Mahilovitch hopefully is part of that. Colorado's reeling and trying to figure out I guess what to do now? Yeah, with the with the eight million that they're gonna be getting,
but then how do they invest in? I think that's the biggest question for Rapids fans is, Okay, you're getting all this money, what are you gonna do with it? And that's gonna be a big question. I think for everybody in Colorado.
What a gut punch for Colorado man, that that's that's tough.
Man.
He kind of felt like Jordia was gonna be their their pillar to their offense, to uh, you know, bring in a little bit of stability, right. He was going to be the guy that's gonna be behind a guy like Navarro that you know you you can because he's such a very good finisher. But without having some of his components that get the ball to a guy like Navarro, man, it's it's difficult. I don't know if getting a guy for you know, X amounts, it doesn't matter. There's gonna
be an adaptation, there's gonna be a learning curb. So yeah, that's tough for Colorado and Toronto. It's not like they're gonna go anywhere this season, but I guess they get their guy to help them rebuild the house on fire that that club and organization has been for the last five years. But I do like the the Columbus numbers. I would definitely take Columbus. I would take Columbus. I would take the goals on this one. The three and a half New York City look for all accounts. They
are a team that you know. In this Leaks Cup they showed us once again how inconsistent they can be, how erratic they can be at times, how they can lose their heads a little bit, and probably the only sense of stability offensively it has been just their attacking points. But other than that, man, it's been you know, a
longso is a one man's show up there. But other than that, man, I think that Columbus, especially coming off of a disappointing tournament here in Links Cup, I think they're gonna go all all in on just starting off to just change and turn that page. So I like Columbus, and I like the three and a half in that one.
Plus one forty one. So it's a decent it's a decent number at the three. Yeah, So I mean to think it that's something that you can play with a little bit and sit there and get an early start on all the activity.
I mean, most of.
The matchups on Saturday are kind of haves and have have not Philly, Toronto, Austin, Houston, in Cope, Tejas, Chicago and lafc oh I forget to ask about Young Men's son for you and Sonny coming for twenty to twenty six by the time it's done.
What'd you think.
I think it's a phenomenal move for MLS. It brings an entire are their fan base, a fan base that has shown that they are soccer folks. You know, if you sign anything in a club World Cup, is some of that Asian influence. At think that there's a lot of Asian influence in the United States, and you know, Son is the most talented and popular Asian player that I can think of at this at least the last decade, and that part is phenomenal. So I think that he's
a top five influence, influential move for MLS. I don't like to hear that, you know, he's the top five signing of all time and all these things, because there's just so many more components to it. Obviously, in terms of success and name recognition, you still have to go with Beckham, Messi, Ibrahimovich, David Villa, Terry Henry. I mean, there's been just so many of those high caliber guys that have won World Cups, have won champions leagues. But Son is a guy that's gonna come in and be
a difference maker for LAFC. I think that he's still a guy that has at least three more years of very good, very high level soccer. He's one of the best finishers in Premier League with Tottenham, with a very poor Tottenham team that if I'm not mistaken, they were like seventeenth or something last season.
And they but they did win Europa League though they.
Did with your Roppa League. And is at the hands of a guy like like sonis and not to mention the fact that he has all the intangibles, and that's something that you see sometimes doesn't go for right. They like the big name, they like the showmanship, they like the things that go in the field. But Son's a guy that he's a locker room favorite, he's a fan favorite, and he's done it for a very long time at
a very consistent level. So I think it's a hell of a signing, without a doubt, the best signing of this summer window so far. I would have even put it slightly above Rodrigo de Paul because of the global scale of it. Rodrigo de Paul has been phenomenal for Inner Miami, of course, but Son just has a little bit more of that amplifier and of just globalizing MLS and bringing more ice to the league.
You've got FCD hosting Portland, All Caps hosting Nashville Sporting hosting San Diego, San Jose hosting Vancouver. Better matchups are on Sunday since he hosting, Charlotte, Minnesota hosting Colorado Red Bulls and RSL. But it ends up with Purple Team and Messian Friends. We still don't know where Leo is in his recovery. Luis Suarez comes up big last night, put on a hat after he scored a goal, and you know, hey, look, leagues Cup have fun. That's perfectly
cool with me. Purple Team is actually favored at home a minus one thirty two on the quick turn, going up against Messian Friends who are almost a plus three hundred right now. Wow, on the road a plus two nine seven in the composite draws a plus three h nine with the Purple Team.
What do you think they're.
That's a uh, that's a surprising numbers. Uh, to be honest, wow. Uh, let me get the go composed as I try to figure this out. Look, I understand that Orlando City uh has a very good roster and that offensively they've been outstanding. They are a team that can definitely and has always given Inner Miami the business. Uh, they have the midfield to contain and bother a lot of the high profile
players that they do. They're gonna make Giordillo defend the whole lot because Orlando does get great with from Guyslac and Goola and Freeman. I mean, you saw yesterday that Freeman balt Wha for the first gorgeous goal that they had, So they definitely have the the weapons to make Inner Miami defend and kind of push them to the limit there. I think there's gonna be a heavy scoring goal sort
of game. I actually like the draw, and I like it, Uh, you know, at three and a half at the very least, I'm sure that the numbers won't be great for that because they're not.
It's a minus one on one, basically a break even at three and a half.
Yeah, exactly exactly. But I think it's gonna be an interesting game. I don't know if I would necessarily take Inner Miami because I do think that even with the Roger good DePaul factor, Orlando is just a better team. And Orlando is in great form. Uh, and if Louis Mouriel can continue to be this effective and be this good. I mean that that that Orlando team is gonna shoot like a cannon here for the rest of the season.
Not to mention the fact that they have so many options with and Rique and they're a very deep team. So but I like to draw on this one, to be quite frank, but it's gonna be an interesting game.
Yep.
Three and a half is a minus one oho one four. No one's taking it. Four and a half right now is a plus two to twenty too. The last matchup on the weekend is the one that you get to focus on. You get to kind of sleep in a little bit on your Sunday ten ten Eastern timekick seven ten out on the West Coast, Dignity Hell Sports Park, Carson, California.
I don't know the zip off the top of my head.
Galaxy A plus one twenty nine in the composite Seattle A plus one seventy nine draws a plus two sixty four. I guess my first question is is it still Andrew Thomas or Stephan Fry gonna get starting now that we're out of League's Cup.
That's a great question. I think that he will be Stephen Fry. Brian's Metzer basically said that he's going to give Andrew Thomas this tournament. Uh talking about Leak's Cup. Uh. So in that sense, I would think that Stephen Fry will be back against the LA Galaxy. We'll have to wait and see if he gets another full day of training, but he's off the protocol. He has been training. He was on the bench, of course, unavailable yesterday against show
US at Tijuana. So if I was a betting man, which I am, I think that it will be Stephen Fry on net in the In that one, I actually think that Seattle is gonna go with their best starting eleven and they're gonna go to l A. They're gonna make a statement that what you've seen both from this team in leagues play, after the Club World Cup and during League's Cup, that you know they're the team to watch in the Western Conference. So to me, I'm taking Seattle.
I'm taking Seattle on the road. I think that they're gonna have a multiple goal winning game. Pedro de la Vega was a guy that when I as soon as I saw that he wasn't gonna start against Cruisou, I knew he was going to be a started against the LA Galaxy, so uh, to me, despite LA Galaxy probably tonight trying to figure out if they can get enough goals to advance in League's Cup because there is a possibility there. I think that's their best way to have
some going to rescue this twenty twenty five season. So they're going to be focused on that, and against the Sounders, I just feel like they're gonna have some tire legs, They're gonna have some mix of emotions back into the league play, and therefore I think Seattle will win that game. Not to mention the fact that I think, uh, Seattle, and we'll see what happens on Friday, but you know,
they're staying pretty healthy now that Stephan Fry's back. You're still waiting on Jordan Morris, of course, Uh, but s too. Hawkins is getting a lot of closer. You're getting a lot of guys back. JP he should be available for for all senses, not just yet against all the Galaxy, but soon enough next week. So I think Seattle, Man, they're they're they're starting to trend. They're me turned in the right direction. But in terms of physical and getting away from the injuries, Uh, we'll see that.
Clearly.
There were two big ones yesterday that we're still going to have to figure out. And that's what I mean by we'll see what happens Friday, because Albert Rusnak went down with a hamstring injury that seemed pretty serious. I mean, you just don't usually see him that discomfort as he comes off, and then Ryan Kent. Clearly Albert Rusnik is the bigger injury out of the two. I think Ferreira did a good job at playing that tenth position yesterday.
He's played it before. He's a guy that's a cerebral guy that is a very good passer, so I think that he could hold the four while Albert Usnak comes back. But those are kind of the two that we'll be looking at going into Friday.
Absolutely true, And so cut the promo for me. What's going on? What the folks need to expect? Where can they watch you? Letting folks know what's going on on the TVs and all the things.
Where can they go?
Yep? Of course we're going to have as always what we learned this week with Jeremiah Sham will break down Wednesday's game, yesterday's game as well as we'll give you the latest on both of those injuries that I just talked about. We'll try to figure out what the lineup's going to be against Elle Galaxy, and then on Monday we'll do Loving Scorches kickoff with our line wall. I was also on their live feed last night right after the game, where we talked about a couple of these things,
so go ahead and check that out too. In Love It's Courches and of course all the stuff in Pulso Sports. If you want to hear from Sewastiana Loko Abreu about the defeat about League's Cup but the fact that he played in Prosida Central with Ymargumz and drive it back in twenty thirteen. You know, everybody knows that at Loko is a guy that played for thirty one or thirty two teams in his playing career, a very long career. So the all those things you'll find at pussl Sports.
And you will find out the best of the information and the intel up at the Providence in Swedish Hair and Porium and delicatessens as you always do. I love you, my friend very much. Be safe, get some rest, enjoy a cup of coffee number three up there, and as you balance life in Seattle and the polue, and we'll catch up with you next week.
It's great to catch up.
You demand, John, And I'm really hoping that dad, last little game, the first League's Cup win for Atlanta United, pushes this team in the right direction.
Yeah, when you and everybody else down here in the Southeast, my friend will catch up soon.
I'm a gooding all right.
There goes Nico Moreno.