Nico, Nino and Nelson. It's time for the handoff here on a Thursday. First off, my friend, which cup of coffee are you on? One or two?
Is this number two?
Do?
His number two? Has been a bit of a moving morning, you know. Always excited to be on with John, with Nino, with my folks down there in Atlanta. Just happy to be on cup number two.
All right, So here's the handoff question for this morning.
I was thumbing through some stuff and I found this particular post from Fabrizio Romano.
Uh huh.
And it had to do after both the foe goal won their title, and he's and John Texter, the owner of Eagle Football Group for the moment until he wants to go and buy Everton admitted on his Instagram account that he found out about Tiago Almada as a player on the two hundred and eighty character app.
Brud didn't know about him.
Dude on Twitter reaches out to John Texter and says, hey, you ought to give this.
Guy named Thiago Almada a look.
So John Texter gives Thiago Almada a look, signs him from Atlanta United and now has won a title with him at both the Fogo I ask the both of you, and since Nino you have been here first, I will ask you first, and then this will give Nico a chance to formulate a response as well. If you're an owner of a club, do you openly admit on your Instagram stories that you recruited because someone recommended a player on Twitter to you?
I got no issues with that. I'm good. Yeah, I don't care. I don't care. I'd be honest with you, brother. I mean, if I didn't find out about the guy, maybe we my monsco team, they've ova looked him. I overlooked him like the coach over looked him. And then somebody on social media says, hey, Beth interest to this guy. Hey, and it's any guy is Romano the transfers in the planet. So this guy might know that these he got something, So yeah, I'll need it, no problem, nonie it man, I'll do it.
Libertador Medica reaches out in Portuguese to John Texter and literally says, there's a good player, Nico. There's a good player called Tiago Almada. I believe he's a great addition to both the Fogo for the Libertadors. He's an Argentine who sets up plays as fast as good finishing and can also play for the wingers. At the moment, he plays for Atlantia United. Texter responded, I'll check him out. Thanks, We've got recruiting going on via Twitter.
Man.
Look, I think that whenever you are a person in a role that demands respect and you are representing your organization, you got to just be able to frame things a little bit better than that. I am with Nino in the fact that, hey, you know what, maybe it's a funny story, maybe you just bring it out. Believe you mean that anyone who doesn't take information from anywhere as
a recruiter is doing themselves as this service. There are times where you might have missed a player, and it could be a fan, it could be a reporter, it could be absolutely anybody bringing a player to your attention, and if you don't check it out, you might miss out on a player, because I mean that's just the way of the game. You might be a manager or a recruiter scouter that's hyper focused in Europe or hyper focused in Spain or whatever it might be and getting
these sort of tips. Sometimes you go check it out and you strike go so I don't see anything wrong with the method, but the phrasing could have been done a little bit better. I think that it would have frenched it up a little bit in my benefit if I was in that position, if I'm.
If I'm an owner, it's like instead of sitting there and saying yeah and so on. On his Instagram story, Texter says, why do I always try to be accessible?
Question mark? I was chosen in quotation.
Marks for both the Fogo on LinkedIn and found Tiago Almada through Twitter.
What's next?
So John underscore Texter on his Instagram stories reveal that, and I just wanted to check with my two other owners in Peru and in Seattle about what they thought about that. Nino, my friend will be watching this weekend. We'll be watching later today, moten say and Sporting as The Fall of Sporting continues in Portugal at three p fifteen Eastern time on Goal TV. Thank you, my friend,
We'll catch up with you next week. I was a pressure guy, all right, bro, yeah, there go, there's a Nino and Nico all right, so now it's you and me, all right?
Uh. I had to bring that story to the table.
I saw that and Tech and Fabricio Armano had the screen cap of text on his Instagram story sitting there saying this is why I'm always accessible, And it ended up with the recruitment of Tiago Almada from Atlanta United for an Eagle football group and got him a crown at both the Fogo.
Hey look not the two horn.
But I've spoken to a lot of GMS sporting directors across MLS and having players that we've mentioned in conversations and then a couple of months later, if it's not to that specific team, they're onto another team and they end up being pretty successful.
So I mean, it does happen. I mean we all have we're all passionate for the game, we all watch it, we're all scouting for the next gem that's gonna come out, and sometimes we have the right idea, we're all looking at the same guy, and uh maybe it's missed some way along the ways for some of these guys, and uh yeah, So I like that being accessible. I would do the same thing. I'd be more than open to anybody provided me a little bit of extra information if
I was in that position. Now again it's the phrasing is that I have an issue with, Uh, you know, you could just say, you know, I get I got resources of all forms of shapes to do the job that I do and you know whatever. But that's a little too open to transparent for me.
Yeah, so courting our good friend arn and I want to say I told you so. I don't want to burn horn toot tooted.
We are still recipients head owners called all the trophies that's our man, aren't and of the for you don't mess with double A the enforcers.
We got stuff to get into here.
Do you want to start with the game at the end of the season or do you want to start with the roster moves that happened that are attached to that big old coffee muggy years that happened yesterday.
Hey, uh you know you quarterback your baby. I'm good either way. I mean, we could go chronological and started the game and end with the moves and decisions.
So yeah, all right, so let's let's bust it down, all right, Let's talk about the last game, the end of the season here and the fact that Ricky Pooge played thirty minutes on a damaged and eventually I guess torn. We don't know if it was torn at the moment, but played thirty minutes on a wonky knee and still had the moment of the match that got Lag the
goal that they needed to knock off Seattle. What's it been like in town since Seattle finished up on the short end of a one nailed match that was it was Nervey at points, but it was a great conference final.
Yeah, definitely disappointment in the Pacific Northwest. Here in Seattle, the fans believed that this could happen once again. They fall one game short of a final. I think that I got to just tipped the hat to Ricky all my respect. You could see how painfully it was for him. I mean I rewatched the game. His hot on one leg, He's walking around, you could see it. You can see he's bothering him and it seems that all he wants
to do is leave the game. Once he makes something happen the goal of pass, he has a shot blog. You can see the frustration. There's a point where I think it's pain Soil that has it on the left and he is kind of in an open space in between the lines. He wants the ball, he doesn't get it. He grabs his head is like he was so frustrated with not being able to influence the game before he has to go because he knows that knees either out or going out. So I just I applaud him. I
applaud him because he he makes that goal happen. Seattle. On the other hand, I thought that they surprised me in the approach of the game, in the execution of the game plan to limit Ricky, to limit Paincil, to limit Peck, even Jovilish to a certain extent. Uh, they were keeping him off danger zones that were not allowing services into Jovis for most of the game. They're really locked down the flanks. Knew who did a fantastic job.
But whenever you're facing the team like LA, you can't afford to make mistakes and that's what ultimately costs you out of the game. Nathan passes the ball or ill advice passed into Alex Rodan in a pressure zone. I thought that that pass was unnecessary where he put it. Alex Rodan tries to pass it immediately to Joe Pavlo. That pass he kind of whiffs, it takes a big bounce, it ends up on LA Galaxy player ultimately into Ricky
Riaky into Jovis and that's the game. So credit to Riki, Credit to l Galaxy for staying in the game for also, you know, being patient. They could have changed things around. They had some issues of their own. Marco Royce ends up believing in the forty fifth. I thought that guy did a great job coming in and filling in. So credit to Greg Danny and this ELLE Galaxy team in Seattle. As much as they had their difficulties throughout the season,
I thought in the playoffs they played sound soccer. They played to their strengths, which was being a defensive team in this one, no Yamergomez Andrade, no Read, no Paul, and you still are able to hold the best offensive team in MLS, probably without in Miami perhaps, but they were definitely the most talented group in my opinion, up top, and you were able to do that with some absences.
So I've been pretty hard on this team. On brand Smetzer, uh and give him credit for going in front of the cameras and saying this was not a successful year. I agree with him, and Uh, he could have gone up there, you know, chess forward and saying, look, nobody believed in us. We got to where we did. We got as far as you know, many things would have wanted to be. We got to the final of the Western Conference, and he didn't. He was very forward about
it not being a s sincessful year. And I agree with him, and I applied for it.
It appeared to me, and call me an idiot if I'm an idiot, that Seattle. What Seattle wanted to do was make Lag fight left handed. And what I mean by that is they took paintcil away, and they tried to take Peck away at times. And Pecan's up on the left hand side and he gets to create with Pooge. But it looked like they wanted to try to have Lag fight left handed. Let's take the bishop out of play.
Let's let's kind of pin him in. So we'll pin Yovola Jan, We'll take paintsil away and try to have Poosh and Peck and that left hand side beat us.
Was I wrong in that?
Not?
I mean yes, uh, but more in the design of I know I have my best one on one defender on the left. So if I'm gonna get stuck in a moment where uh, there is a transition moment and there is an opening, I'm gonna have my best defender take you down. I'm gonna provide more help on the right side, where Alex Rodan is not as defensively sound as I knew who is. That's also the side where I had Nathan, who had had less than eight starts on that on that end, So there was a little
bit more of a collective effort on that side. And knowing that and he did ends up blocking down Knew who ends up blocking down Peck, then I feel a little bit better by putting all my efforts to my quote unquote weaker side. So yes, I did think that they try to move it on over here and La Galaxy in a very savvy way. They started to force balls into pain soil and force balls on the other side, and that ended up working quite a bit. So I
don't think you're wrong on that. I think that there was a sense of more of the effort being done to maybe leave Tech and ri Key out on the left side.
So now lag is in the last game of the year, Royce is a question mark, Pooge is out. How do you foresee them trying to keep this attack going in fifth gear up against this Red Bulls team.
How do you how do you envision this lineup looking now?
Yeah, I mean I think you go back to I don't remember if it was June when Reeky miss fire games. I believe that in those five games they won three, lost one and drew one and it was Serio Delgado and Fagundes in that midfield. And I feel like Fagundas can do a lot of the Wreki type stuff, obviously
more limited. I don't want to call him riky. I'm just saying when he comes to the passing, when he comes to the ability to distribute, he's not as strong obviously getting forward and being vertical with the ball, breaking lines with the ball, but he can definitely provide some of the riky things that can hold the thing together. And I think that when he comes to depth, Ali Galaxy has it in midfield. They still got you know, Brukman.
If they want to bring him in, they want to play a little bit more defensive, they want to be more careful. But I think he will be just Fagunds coming in and Delgado came in for Royce in the last game, and I thought Ellie gottsould look better with a guy on the on the pitch. So I'm thinking that it's gonna be a very easy transision. Is going to be exactly the same thing that you saw in the second half against the Sounders, plus for Gundes for Riki.
All right, So then out of the Eastern Conference it's Red bull and everybody sits there and they look at the idea of, oh, well, they're you know, they're they're a low seed, the lowest seed ever to make it to MLS Cup out of the you know, the Eastern Conference.
But they're not that seed. You know the difference in Red Bulls.
Red Bulls are not that seed with a healthy Emil Forsburg versus and not healthy Emil Forsburg. You see the difference between them being who they are and who they ended up being with the I mean, look, they ain't no. Seven seed, I'll tell you that right now. But you see the difference in Red Bulls and Sandro Schwartz with Emil Forsburg in that lineup.
Yeah, And I think you saw it early in the season when this team did have all their tools and they were all in form, and they go on a bit of a run and you see a lot of the red bull pressure and a lot of the secondary balls, the duels and everything that you're seeing success of this team throughout the playoffs. So I agree with you. I don't think that there were a seventh seed, but the circumstances of the season led them to lose a lot
of games, lose a lot of momentum. And you and I both know that inertia is a big thing when it comes to MLS, is a big thing when it
comes to getting into the playoffs. They were able to regain that, and now you see that maybe that played into their own advantage as well, because you have teams going into a three game series or a one game playoff, a scenario with the team that you are kind of underestimating because of their seating, because of the boring way they play, or whatever it might be, they're gonna allow us the ball and then all of a sudden being
very good about what they do. And that's why you've heard me say a thousand times identity is a key component to winning games. And that's what they have as an identity. They all know exactly what they're playing for. Everybody is giving you ultimate effort, and when you get that guy with the magic feed, the guy that can change it all up in Emil Forsberg. It just amplifies everything around you, and that's why you have them where
they are. I thought that Orlando City they kind of shot themselves in the foot not being able to finish the moments they created because Red Bulls is a team that you cannot allow to stay in the game. You cannot allow them to just settle into the game to be able to take away those moments and make them pay, and they weren't able to do that. But Gundatoris had a clear shot just I think it was poortally placed for now, great safe, whatever you might want to say.
But there were a thousand There were at least three more ways that Gunatoris couldn't approach that shot, pass it, or whatever it was, to make it a more optimal decision, and he didn't. So credit to Red Bulls. I think they're going to make it difficult for lag But credit to Schwartz this midfield. I mean, when I looked at the injury report and I saw that Carbajo was not going to be in, I was like, oh, that's a
tough one. Hey, stroking In did a fantastic job. Edelman has been great all season, or at least to close the season, and they did great.
Juice boxes have lag the minus one nineteen that has been trickling back toward even money as the week has gone along. Ninety minute draws a plus two seventy nine. In the composite courtesy of our friends at odds Portal, Red Bulls are a plus two eight six.
What do you think, Ooh.
Uh yeah, Uh, that's a That's a tough one, man.
I'm just that I'm just gonna if you're saying tough, that means to me, you're looking at a number, You're looking at totals, You're not looking at anything else.
Yeah, maybe totally would be the way to go in this one. But either way, let me just kind of break it down to you, just because, Uh, as much as I do believe that this LA Galaxy team has dept to replace Ricky and perhaps Mark Royce, well, I don't think is as influential as Ricky. Obviously, it does change their game. It does makes it a little bit slower. He does make it a little bit more predictable, if you will, because the things that Riky is willing to
do no in that team is willing to do. And even if Agnes is a good passer, he doesn't have the same passing ability to put bolts in between lines and through balls that Riki does. And all Red Bulls needs is one time where you are doubting yourself in a pass that you don't put enough pays on a pass that you're coming and building out of the back, and you give him an opportunity. So I, honestly, I have a hard time. I think that Led will pull it off ultimately, and I don't think the margins are
very high in this one. I think that you shouldn't surprise anybody if Red Bulls that has taken out Columbus, that has taken out Orlando, that has you know, continued to get clean sheets and their way to the final beats this lag team. But I'm gonna take Lag. But what are the numbers in terms of the scool.
Three and a half is a plus one sixty five for the over. Four and a half is a plus three seventy six.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
I think three and a half is the play here. I think you're looking at probably if it's ninety minutes, well it's to go backward. Three is where it changes from minus to plus. Three is a plus one twelve, So if you think it's two to one, you can get a little bit added to your your pocketbook if you go at a plus one twelve on the over at three.
Yeah, look, let me get that three and a half and I'm gonna I'm gonna take Lag Ultimately. I feel like there were moments where Angulo and Fakuturis had the opportunities to exploit when the Red Bulls were very high in their lines doing that pressing, and they were unable to capitalize. Whether it was a poor movement by Ojeda or a bad touch by Taurus or remb Rikit that did not have to get game at all. You cannot
do it against Lag. And Jovivich is an assassin, and he's the phase he put when he scores no reaction, just angry at the camera. He's trying to show you, man that he's disrespected. That everybody talks about Triple P's, that everybody talks about Roy's and whoever you want, and nobody talks about Jovis. But that's a bad, bad man. I mean, that is the phase of an assassin. And he's ready to just take you out. I think he's going to be big in the final. I thought he
was a determining factor in this game against Seattle. So give me lag and I'll take the three and a half.
All right now.
The roster news that I wanted to get into yesterday from yesterday involves the team that you cover on a daily basis, and it was a big part of the discussion we had in hour number one about an individual in particular, Rollery Diaz out of contract leaving Seattle after seven seasons.
That opens up a DP slot in Seattle.
So he departs as their all time leading score across all comps, two titles, MLS Cup and the Triple C back in twenty two. In talks was Joe Polo and Albert Rusnach. JP has played in over one hundred matches. Rusnach a DP second leading score in twenty four with ten goals and sixteen assistances. So you get to the Western Conference Final, you now wonder what Craig Wible has
up his sleeve. Options Exercise Baker, Whiting, Bell castro Chew, Rodriguez, Rothrock, Declined, Quita Hada, Nathan Dylan, Tevez, ruy Diaz out of contract and discussions JP and Rus Knock And the question that we brought to the floor is the Nico Lededo esque question involving role ruy Diaz this time, would someone who made two million base and two point seven this past season think of themselves as a tam player who comes in has to be that microwave you come in.
I need instant impact.
You don't have to start every match for me, you have maybe start fifty percent of them.
You're in multiple competitions.
I know you'll showcase in certain points, but you ain't going to be making two million or two point seven. You might be making the ledetto money of eight hundred thousand that he did this year for the Purple team. What do you think is going to go on now with raw ruy Diaz, now that he gets to go and pursue his own future someplace else.
Look, I like to start by saying that he has been an absolute privilege to cover the franchise best striker of all time, no doubt in my mind, at least to me in my opinion. Take it for what you will. Goes Permittent tells you everything you need to know about how good he's been for this squad, from breaking the news, the transfer news here in Seattle about his signing all the way to the last game. Has been a real learning experience in the way a certain player can be
little misunderstood. But that has all the quality in the world. So when he comes to his potential future, I will say that there is a lot of interest and I kind of saw it. When it comes to money. Yes, he's not going to get a deep contract here in MLS.
He'll be a high level camp player. I wouldn't put it past him to even get a little bit more than Nico, just because of the position that he plays in where maybe there's a little bit more belief that you can revive him in a Joseph Martinez sort of way. So I think that there are two markets that have the advantage. One is MLS. After this number twelfth, when free agency opens, you'll be able to take real offers. I've mentioned already twice there's at least two teams interested.
There seems to be a couple more than added since the last time we spoke, So there is a few teams that are willing to take a gamble on a former elite striker in MLS. The other is LEGAMX, and LIGAMX has turned into It's kind of funny because they used to call MLS the retirement league. And now if you've been in MLS and you haven't had a good season or you want to take a second chance of your career, you go down to Mexico. I mean you have Luisa Marija down there, You had a Kiloba, you
have Francisco Calbo. Just yesterday, if I'm not mistaken, Dajome, it was presented at Santo's. So you got all these MLS players that get, if not similar money, maybe even more money that they would have here because they're a new commodity in in in uh Lega Max. So I think those are the two markets where Raldridiaz would would go to. And maybe Nino is going to have a heartbreak here, but I think would be a very last resort.
I think all of the circus that media created with some false reporting that he was going to be I don't last summer hurt the whole process. It hurt even Roldridiez's decision making. Uh And I just think that those two markets MLS and MX is where rauldradius would will end up ultimately.
Is he at a point in his career where he will take the one year and will go ahead and see what happens, and I'll go ahead and I'll do the prove it to you one year deal or does he want to security and want the one plus option two plus option, two years solid?
Where is he in his career?
That's a great question. It's actually he wants that two year contract. And New England Revolution was interested in him during the summer and I'm told that he was looking for a two year deal and between a whole bunch of things that happened was they weren't able to make the deal happen. So can New England be also another team that is interested in him and he's willing to give him a two year deal at this point in time that maybe the one ready to do in the summer.
We'll see, But yes, definitely looking for at least a two year deal. That's what I'm hearing. That's what most players are job publish intuition is very similar. He is right now. I'm told fifty to fifty whether he'll come back to Seattle or not. It was a lot less a few days ago. He was ultimately going to be leaving, but now they're in negotiations with the club. I brought before the release the press release from the team that
he was negotiating with the team. He does won a two year deal, So that's going to be important for any player at that age, right job securities. I want to make sure that I'm getting at least two years, and then we'll see what happens after that. So yes, Raoul JP, both of them will be looking for the two year deal. In terms of the other players that are out, I don't see Dylan Tevis coming back. I don't see Sota coming back. Nathan definitely not back for
that price tag. So Seattle definitely making some moves to either trying to bring down the price of some of these other players or looking elsewhere to get that depth.
Albert is an interesting one man, because, look, there's a huge discussion we just had that on ninety three point three KJR in radio last night, and.
It's hard to argue that the numbers aren't there. And I am someone who does believe that if you you are a player that came on produced for my team, I'm gonna take care of you. But that doesn't mean, I'm going to throw in the house of the window either. I'm not gonna put myself in a situation where if you want a race that's beyond reasonable, then I gotta let you go. But he's on a contract that's about two point three if I'm not mistaken right now, how
much is that race that you're asking for? So I think Albert Russnek and the reason what they're negotiating is because he does want more money. I would put the cap at two point six. I would not go beyond that. I do believe that he is worth the DP spot. People have been on my mansions and said, hey, he's not worth the DP all of these things. Maybe he isn't the best DP, but he does give you continuity, and he has proven to you that he can assist
that he can score. Maybe with a better surrounding team that coach stellar group around him, he might be even better. I've said one, two, three, four or five times that the Sounders need to go get a twenty six to twenty seven year old striker that has twenty goals in them, that that is a proven striker, and that immediately changes and amplifies the things that Albert Russa can do and then you can see what happens with Jordan. Play them
out wide, have him, you know, take turns. Maybe you look into a situation where you try out two strikers, but I do not think that going into twenty twenty five with Jordan Morris as your only striker or as your main striker is a great solution. Because hear me out here, John, people have this misconception that Jordan Morris won the position as the loan striker for this team throughout the season, and he didn't. He was given that
position on preseason. Rauri Diez was relegated to the bench and was always going to be a bench player going into the season. And the only reason why he played as a starter to start twenty twenty four was because Albert Russ that was hurt. That was a need to go to a four four two that didn't quite work. I remember asking Jordan Morris if he didn't want to go back to the wing, if he didn't think that he was better, because he wasn't working. It wasn't working
with him up top. Now he grew into the position and he got a lot better. And you've heard me say right here that Jordan Morris has grown as a striker and has done a lot of the hold up play, link up play, a lot of the things that he
wasn't doing before a lot better now. But that does not mean that I don't think that this team should not go out there and spend that DP money on a proven commodity that can come in and put the team on his shoulders and come out big in big moments when he comes to the striker position.
What is going on this weekend with you and MLS Cup and pull those sports on the soccer bar. I imagine that you guys are gonna be watching it with your feet kicked up and yelling at a TV screen what's going on?
Yeah, So we're doing a couple of things. I am actually setting up and end of the season open mic for later on today at five point thirty. I'm just gonna take people's questions a little Q and a. We'll see who shows up in terms of some of my colleagues or you know, special guests. But the whole point of this is just to get a take on everybody in terms of what they saw from the Sounders this time around and what's coming up in twenty twenty five if you want to hear my take on whether it
was a successful season or not for the Sounders. I don't think it's successful, but I thought it was encouraging. There were little things that we can talk about there in that open mic. We're obviously gonna touch up on the final. We're gonna be on in Soccer Bar here in about forty minutes to break down the final nice and in depth, and we'll definitely have a end of the season specially so for you guys on Wednesday next week.
So that's kind of what we have already programmed in Pools of Sports and Soccer Bar.
As always, my friend, great to see you. Go, enjoy the rest of that second cup of coffee. Get ready because you've got to get to talking in forty minutes. Love you, my friend. We'll see you next week.
Appreciate you, guys,